Geiger Cousins
When I was a kid, we had large family gatherings on a regular basis on both sides of the family. On my mother's side, this involved getting together at my grandmother's house with her cousins and their kids and grandkids. Some of our cousins came in from Morgan City or Houma, LA. Two of my cousins are named Michael. One is Michael Slobotzky, my grandmother's brother's youngest, or my 1st cousin once removed. And the other Michael Geiger (one of our Houma cousins), my grandmother's cousin's son, or my second cousin once removed. The two of them would entertain us little kids by arguing about which was our favorite cousin Michael and who was "Michael #1" and Michael #2."
After my grandmother passed away, we didn't see many of these cousins often and lost touch. But thanks to the wonders of Facebook, I found Michael, but I didn't notice where he lived. Then one day, his status message was something that only made sense if he was in the DC area. Turns out, he lives in suburban Maryland, works as a contractor for the FAA and my mother knew he was in this area all along. (Maybe my mother told me and I forgot. Like Kackie, I can't be trusted to remember anything before yesterday.)
Anyway, Michael and I got together when he came to FAA for new credentials, and we had his family over for dinner a month later. It was fantastic to reconnect and meet his wife Deborah and daughters Heather and Sonya. He also brought this incredible diagram of our family tree, starting with our common ancester -- my great, great grandmother, Celine Lehman Blumenthal. When I was a kid, I was so proud that we spent time with 2nd cousins. And today I love that my kids know their 3rd cousins once removed.
After my grandmother passed away, we didn't see many of these cousins often and lost touch. But thanks to the wonders of Facebook, I found Michael, but I didn't notice where he lived. Then one day, his status message was something that only made sense if he was in the DC area. Turns out, he lives in suburban Maryland, works as a contractor for the FAA and my mother knew he was in this area all along. (Maybe my mother told me and I forgot. Like Kackie, I can't be trusted to remember anything before yesterday.)
Anyway, Michael and I got together when he came to FAA for new credentials, and we had his family over for dinner a month later. It was fantastic to reconnect and meet his wife Deborah and daughters Heather and Sonya. He also brought this incredible diagram of our family tree, starting with our common ancester -- my great, great grandmother, Celine Lehman Blumenthal. When I was a kid, I was so proud that we spent time with 2nd cousins. And today I love that my kids know their 3rd cousins once removed.
The Geigers also brought all the kids toys. Anders got a great stuffed animal with many lovely things to chew on. Ellis got a tiny doll with lots of lovely clothing to to put on it. Ellis loves this as much as the magnetic doll she got from Kackie and Pops. But in both cases, rather than mixing and matching the clothing, she seems to lock on a favorite outfit and insist that no one change it.
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