Las Cruces in Germany
July 2, 2010
**I apologize in advance for this long post!
Hello gorgeous readers! If there are any readers…There very well could be hoards of blog stalkers reading my sporadic musings—I myself am a blog stalker who rarely steps out of the shadows to comment—yet I think its more likely that my blog is one that appeals to a few, loyal readers. And that is something I am at peace about. I write to clear my head, to gather my thoughts and organize them into something I can reflect on later. I write to sift through the rubble that my mind and my senses are overly infiltrated with. I write to discover and uncover. And, I write to remember.
On June 26th, 2010 my cousin Jacob came to Mainz. Jacob is only two years younger than me, and grew up in a brick house with a willow tree in front that was only 4 minutes and twenty-six seconds from my own brick house. From the time I was five years old I walked there on my own; by the time I was six , Jacob and I had started our own house cleaning business marketed with a sign reading: “Will clean house. Have own supplies. 25 cents”.
Of course, at some point our closeness transitioned into the cousinly formalities often found between silly high school girls and their ‘younger’ boy cousins. Our love was still there, but the times we hung out and talked reduced themselves to Shabbat dinner once a week, and the occasional car ride to school. I went through my phases, and stages, and he watched patiently—observing my mistakes and thankfully embarking on a different high school path.
And then, last year, he graduated from high school. He got into one of his top choices for an undergraduate program, and then, without hesitating, deferred to go on a year course in Israel. So as I journeyed to find adventure, green hills, history, and kilts and bagpipes a German boy in Scotland, Jacob landed in the land of milk and honey.
I didn’t see him, and hardly spoke to him all year.
On June 26th, 2010 Jacob arrived in Mainz.
He had just finished a three-week backpacking trip with friends from year course, and we planned to stay in Mainz for a few days, go to Berlin for a few days, and then, sadly, part ways.
His trip rekindled that our childlike closeness. There were feelings of content silence, and unspoken conversations that were completely understood. I learned so much about the Israel he experienced, and how it has changed from the one I have known. I saw my little, four-year-old cousin, transitioned into a grown, mature, amazing man.
I don’t worry about the different stages we will go through anymore. We talked about it and decided that by the time we are 30 and 32 we will be the same age anyway…so we just have to bridge the age gap for 11 more years.
I can’t wait to travel with him again. Hopefully through South America, or South East Asia, and hopefully accompanied by my brother and sister, and even our other cousins too. I’ve told you before, my family members are my best friends.
**Stay tuned for Jacob’s visit in pictures. I figured I’ve talked enough, you might enjoy seeing the experiences I’ve been living.
I love this post. There’s a unique relationship one can have with (slightly) extended family who are the same age, but opposite sex. I felt like I missed out a lot on this when we moved from Illinois to New Mexico- but if you’ll remember the cousin of mine that was at NMUN in 2009, he’s basically my Jacob. And today, though we rarely see each other, we can send each other email or messages on Facebook and ask for advice or tell each other a joke. The strange thing is that although I moved away when we were nine, we have grown into being people of very similar taste and interests.
Kurt Vonnegut wrote and spoke often about how we ought to encourage large families and keep close ties with our extended family because it wards off loneliness. It’s when I think about relationships we have with our cousins that I’m convinced he was right. Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to say is that this is a really great post, because I could really relate.