family moves

Growing up, my mom's side of the family lived six hours away in Texas. Then they lived a lot farther away in Virginia. We only got to see those grandparents and aunts and cousins a couple times a year.

And then I moved to Virginia. I lived with my grandparents, and those aunts and cousins were around all the time. I'd see them every week, or multiple times a week. All holidays and birthdays were spent with the same crew. Sure we could all get on each other's nerves sometimes, but it was kind of nice knowing everyone was around and everyone could be counted on to show up for a family meal or celebration. Even after I moved to Raleigh for grad school, or later when I moved to Charlottesville for work, I could still see them all often. And us "kids" could hang out if we wanted, which was especially nice when my brother was also in town. All the cousins were together.

But now that's changed. My aunt Caryn, plus my cousin Jay and his family, just moved away. To Portland, Oregon. Five people just left, which is a pretty big chunk of our Richmond family. Birthdays and holidays aren't going to be the same. Maybe slightly less stressful, but maybe not nearly as fun. It makes me kind of sad.

As a last "hurrah" for the whole family and to celebrate a birthday, we all got together for dinner a couple weekends ago. The meal was great. The company was great. And I got to meet my cousin's new son for the first time, which was extra great.

Jay presenting a birthday cake to Bobby, who turned five.

Birthday boy with his aunt Leslie.

Meeting Corbin for the first time. (The shot's a little fuzzy but his eyes are open!)

Showin' off our eyeballs.

Baby Corbin!

Gonna miss those boys.

Things in Richmond just aren't going to be the same. I'm going to miss them all.