When I think of all the childhood memories I have with my cousins, there are two words that sum it all up – joy and chaos! I grew up an only child, but with all the madness aka cousins surrounding me, I still doubt whether or not I know the real meaning of having no sibling of my own. How could I? I never for a day experienced a shortage of kids to play with and when I grew up, I didn’t feel the need to go finding friendships that would comfort me. I had it, already. My mother has 2 siblings, a sister and a brother, who each have 2 kids, making that 4. And my father has 6 siblings, 3 sisters and 3 brothers, each having 3 kids, which equals 18. So basically, a grand total of 22 cousins. Phew!
Since I’m the eldest, I was always looked up to, to be the one who controls the mayhem and leads the pack. But little did our families know, that I was the one who came up with the unsolicited plans, instigating the rest to be up to more wickedness that they would’ve done, without me. Imagine the damage the elders of the house had to deal with, when 22 kids are hand-in-glove with each other, sharing the same idea of a good time, and refuse to tattle about each other! While adulthood has me sympathizing with my parents, and my uncles and aunts, I won’t deny, it was one hell of a party in my teens! Of course, there were days on which we’d argue and want to exclude some from a game of hide-and-seek, as a punishment for something petty they might’ve done, but on most days, we were the best of friends. Even now, things remain the same. There are moments or sometimes days of friction between some of us, but when it comes down to it, we’re stronger than 10 shots of tequila and thicker than our unexercised thunder thighs!
If you have 73847659 cousins like I do, here are 6 things you will totally relate to…
1. Family functions are never run-of-the-mill and boring! While other kids look for ways to escape them, those with tons of cousins look forward to these days!
2. For those with an army of cousins, birthday parties mean ten-fold fun! More presents, more tamasha, more laughter – more of all the good stuff!
3. When life gets difficult, you don’t have to depend on one or two friends to be your sounding board. You have a plethora of options to choose from, depending on which type of personality will understand your type of issue. You know who to call when you’re having boy-trouble, and you know who to turn to when you need career advice!
4. Having cousins who are like your best friends, is like having a whole lot of people who love you unconditionally – free of any kind of judgement. They know exactly who you are and where you come from, and are accepting of every aspect of your being. If that doesn’t spell sheer happiness, what does?
5. When you have plenty of cousins, you never feel lonely or friendless. There’s always some drama happening, and if you’ll are a close knit family, be rest assured you’ll be part of it. Hence, life never gets boring or dull.
6. God forbid someone take panga with you or anyone of your cousins! There’ll be a whole team to defend you and fight for you.
