I've been thinking about this for a long time and it really bothers me. What has brought it to the forefront is that my cousin, Chrissy is leaving St. Louis.
We have been "besties" since we were kids. But, it wasn't until she was in 7th grade and I was in 8th that we started spending many, many weekends together. Distance wise, we were probably about 40 minutes apart in St. Louis. It cost money to call each other--known as "toll" calls. We were at the mercy of whoever would drive us. In fact, we traded babysitting for rides with her sister (also my cousin), Judy.
All that to say, we've always been very close. When I fly to St. Louis, she would pick me up and we'd spend as much time together as possible. That was always priority for us.
Well, in late January, she told me she was moving. Her husband had passed away around Christmas. Her two daughters live in Springfield, MO, so they convinced her (and it didn't take much) to move there. I get it. I would want to be close to my daughters too. But, of course, I only thought of myself. I knew I would never see her again! That's a strong statement, but it's true. She doesn't like to drive on the highway, or fly. It was always me coming to St. Louis. Considering I only get to St. Louis a couple times a year, now I have one less reason to go.
I sunk in to a funk for several weeks. I tried to talk myself out of it because I knew that in the same position, I'd do the exact same thing.
I'm realizing that we're "at that age." My grandmother and her sisters (all 4 of them--one of which was Chrissy's mom) were very close. They spent so much time together on a daily basis--until their children started moving them away. I remember when it started happening. Once Aunt Stella was moved by her son, she- never- saw- her- sisters- again. That's when it began. How sad is that?
I started thinking about how hard it is to get all of us together--especially the cousins. Not my other cousins--I can't remember the last time I've seen any of them. Now-a-days, it's just funerals. There's only one old person left--well unless you start counting us.
What I'm talking about and sad about is my children and my siblings' children. They never see each other. We started the mother/daughter trips a couple years ago--which are so fun. But, the truth is that when our generation is gone, they will never get together. The ones in St. Louis still might. But even now, it's not that often.
Anyway, it's just sad to me. Family has always been everything. And now it's just fading away.
I'm going to miss you Chrissy! I love you girly!
Oh I can totally sympathise with you on this one. What a shame. I know I would be sulking for a long time if I were in your position. I guess that's where living on a small island is handy, nowhere is THAT far away but in the US the distances are so great. It must feel like a huge chapter is coming to its end, but you are so close I know that you will be in touch with each other one way or another very often!
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