So wonderful to have nearby cousins, and we were blessed to live close enough to the Wenzel family to share dance classes. We lived in Wisconsin at the time, us in Waukesha and the Wenzel’s in Brookfield. It was a magical time – and also the cutest time when you see them in their little penguin costumes, doing their best to tap dance.
When my brothers and sisters and I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, with few exceptions our dozens and dozens (…and dozens ) of cousins were nearby. That meant that we were always getting together. Just imagine the Baptisms, First Holy Communion, and Confirmations for that crowd. Gatherings on the weekend with extended family was just what we did. I moved away from Chicago after college and others did the same for job opportunities, taking away some of that weekly/monthly interaction.
Bridget and Becca are the fourth child of both the Wenzel and Beatty families, and as you can see very close in age. Each child is close in age to one in the other family. Though now spread across the country, all it takes is a gathering of any kind and the years and distance melt away for the cousins. And the good news is that holds true even for my children’s cousins who we were not able to live nearby.
