I never understood you then and I guess I never will

[twilight33]

On the longest day of the year, I spent an ungodly amount of time stuck in traffic on the way to Tacoma which made it never-ending.

There I met my dad's 3rd cousin from Oregon, a second generation namesake of my grandma's uncle, and some of his family. He gave me pictures of my 3x-great grandparents and the grave in France, dinner, family gossip, and a big hug. I gave him pictures of his namesake, the story of his great-grandma's birth according to my great-great grandfather, and a running commentary about lineage through my laptop when we all got confused among the generations.

I'm starting to get used to the incomprehensible look my father's kin gives me when I mention he wants nothing to do with me & my family.

My cousin took one look at me and said I have the family's eyes, then listed off various other family members who have them. I've always wondered because they didn't seem to match up with anyone in my substantially smaller direct line, but he's right. My 3x-great grandfather is staring back at me from the 1870s with them in the portrait I'd never seen before tonight.

Our neighbor's car is currently stuck in the ditch in front of our home as he was trying to do a 3 point turn in our driveway. He lives way up the road so we hadn't met him before, and his first name is the same as my father's.

Go figure.

Comments

[sunneyone.livejournal.com]

i'm glad you're making contact with your extended family. reading your posts almost makes me want to trace my own lineage.

what a hell of a way to meet the neighbors.

Sometimes it's a matter of perspective

[tim-wright.livejournal.com]

Here's a tangent for you: It was only the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. Those south of the quator, like certain unnamed people currently traveling in Australia, experienced the shortest day of the year.

And, well, you know, it wasn't really neither the longest nor the shortest day as well, each day is the same length. ;)