Growing up in Philadelphia, the cousins were all quite close. I was much younger than most of the crowd, having been the result of a celebration by my parents after arriving in the New World, a mistake as my mother explained. Two cousins in Toronto, the only ones from my mother's side of the family, were my age, one older and one younger than me. My sister was closest in age otherwise and she was nine years older. My brother was almost 11 years older. So it was like growing up with two sets of parents.
But then, cousins who had gone to Australia first decided to join the rest of the family in America. Bo was my brother's age but Mishka was only 6 years older and that made a difference when I was 6 years old. She was still a kid but the others were already grown up. Miska became my favourite cousin.
Fast forward, and we are now in our 70s. Mishka married a South American doctor and went to live in Venezuela. Sadly I never visited her there. They escaped when the regime became autocratic and moved to Florida. I hadn't seen Mishka in more than 20 years when we got an invitation to her daughter Natalia's wedding. It was great fun to see them again, the girls Ara, Lesia, and Talia, and, of course, Mishka. It was like no time had passed.
So when they planned a trip to the UK, they included a two-night fly-by to County Mayo to see us. That's not nearly enough time, and they literally 'did' the UK first, arriving exhausted. But it was great to show them our little corner of the world. Reconnected at last.
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