To my wonderfully amazing cousins,
Throughout our lives, every single one of us has made many friends. These friends tend to come and go, but the select few actually stay. Then there are the friends who have been there for us since the beginning and will always be there until the end. These friends who have always stayed are our cousins. Siblings are always there too, but let's be serious for a second. We are with our siblings basically 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our cousins are the siblings we do not have to live with all of the time; therefore, they are not someone we can necessarily be annoyed by in that time frame.
Every single one of you have taught me so many different things. I have obtained so many unforgettable life lessons and quirky little life hacks from all of you that I am probably set for life. All of our family gatherings are where the relationships we gained were nurtured. It was days like those that forged our lifelong bonds. We made these gatherings bearable for each other. The “kids table” turned out to be the fun table, no matter where we were. We would spend most of our time making inside jokes about our crazy uncle who would consistently run back and forth between the food tables, shamefully laugh at how loud all of our family actually was and simultaneously shake our heads at how crazy our individual families were. The endless amounts of contagious laughter we shared over silly things like someone snorting at Easter dinner and how awful someone else was dancing at a party are pretty unforgettable moments. We would even try to coordinate what time our families arrived at all of our events so there was not a single moment spent alone with all of the adults to be tricked into helping cook.
Another great thing about being close to y’all is that we always knew what the others were going through. We suffered the same family crises; we lost the same loved ones; we welcomed the same new relatives by birth or marriage. Throughout the highs and the lows, we did everything together, no matter what. We are bonded by blood, siblings at heart and, of course, friends by choice. As the years have passed, I have come to realize that my cousins are the oldest friends I have. The oldest, the dearest and the most loving friends. I would not trade these friendships for anything or anyone in this world.
So thank you. Thank you for suffering through awkward family parties. Thank you for making me laugh over Thanksgiving dinner when we ate ourselves sick on multiple servings of mashed potatoes, rolls and banana pudding. Thank you for being that shoulder to cry on when we were going through a crisis. Thank you for putting up with me longer than anyone else ever has. Thank you for being not only my cousins, but my best friends and long-lost siblings. Without all of you, I do not know who I would be today.
With much love,
Jasmine
