Fun with Family

I watched the children from the living room window play under a blue Atlanta September sky. Andrew orchestrated the game of ball to eager followers. Brenna and Rem danced around the periphery with their own games, content to be a part of the group without participating in the structured play. Hours passed and I ended the happy afternoon with the need to get on the road towards Asheville.

Our initial purpose to visit my brother and his family centered on watching Andrew play a football game. Unable to coordinate our schedules for a home game we attended an away game that wasn’t far from my brother’s house. The game held many perks: Andrew was a captain, the home team didn’t have a marching band so his school’s band performed at half time, and my sister-in-law brings her pom poms, noisemakers and exuberance to both home and away games.

Rem cheered for his linebacker cousin when the defense lined up and I tried to point out number 45 to him. We listened for the home announcer to call Andrew’s name and waited through the long pause between first and last names as he struggled through the pronunciation. My brother leaned over from where he stood at the top of the stands against the chain link fence along with Craig to explain that even the announcer at Andrew’s school had a little difficulty with the name at the beginning of the season. “Of course he got a lot of practice and now it’s not an issue,” he smiled with pride and nodded his head in affirmation of his own statement.

Rem cheered for Andrew when the offense lined up and Andrew sat on the bench, resting, the back of his head dark and shiny with sweat. His team looked smart and well-disciplined but could not overcome the size and athleticism of some of the players on the opponent’s seemingly disorganized team. The parents continued to cheer, the band played with spirit and my sister-in-law shook her noisemakers until the end.

Rem cheered for Andrew when the band took the field at halftime. He cheers for Andrew every time he sees a football player on TV. He asks for stories about our week-end. First a story about Andrew, then one about Lauren playing with him in the car. Brenna stories get lumped with Rosco, the dog. He corrects me if I misspeak about something that happened and giggles with delight when I tell him how much his cousins love him.

My children share a strong, innate connection with their cousins. Time, distance and age create no boundaries to the easy, genuine bond that reveals itself when our family gets together. My children yearn to hang out with their cousins and demand sufficient time with their Abita Springs cousins to make trips to Louisiana worthwhile. And when together, there is no acclamation period, no time spent getting reacquainted. They get down to business. Miren will go hide with Lauren for awhile. Or Lise will head outside with Koby in an attempt to ward off the performance that Miren will con them into later. Andrew walks in the door, sweaty and tired from a long game and scoops Rem up into his arms without pause. Kate sighs, knowing that Rem will follow her every move for the next hour or two and hopes that Brenna is there to divert her attention. The friendships that the children foster among themselves soothes some of the loneliness that I feel for my siblings and their families as our busy lives in various parts of the country allow fewer and fewer times together.