"We Are Family"

Having left Kentucky, I assumed my closest relatives to me were in Cincinnati, Ohio. Turns out I have family closer than I thought!

My Granddaddy has a sister, my Great-Aunt Nancy Lee, that lives in Pearl River, NY (about 40 minutes north of me) with her husband, Uncle Jack. This past weekend, they had a 65th Wedding Anniversary party and they invited me to come! Granddaddy and my aunt Gina came up for the party and I definitely didn't want to miss seeing them!

So, Sunday morning, I got up and caught a bus that went right to Pearl River. It was about an hour to get there, so it wasn't a bad trip at all. Granddaddy, Gina, and my 2nd cousin, Alma, (Jack and Nancy's oldest daughter) came and picked me up from the bus stop and took me to Jack and Nancy's house. They greeted me with open arms and I was excited to meet family so close to me in NY! But they weren't the only one's...Also at their home was my Great-Aunt Marita (Granddaddy's other sister), and her three children, my 2nd cousins Rita, Charlotte, and Lee. After meeting everyone, we headed to Rye, NJ where I met Jack and Nancy's son, my 2nd cousin Kenny and his wife Linda. My mom and Kenny went to Western together and she had been telling me how she wanted me to meet him and get his phone number. Well Kenny and Linda were so unbelievably sweet and gave me all of the phone numbers. Linda, who grew up in the city, told me that if I never needed anything or was in trouble or just wanted to get out of the city, that I was welcome to come stay with them at any time! Plus, out where they live, I got to see all kinds of yards and trees and changing leaves. I finally got to see Fall!!!

But back to family...so after having lunch at Kenny and Linda's, we headed back to Pearl River to the hotel where we could get ready for the party. So 5 o'clock rolls around and we went downstairs to the party (which was conveniently in the hotel). Let me tell you, family galore! I met Jack and Nancy's other children Bruce, Nancy, Peter, and Kathy (Kenny and Alma were also there). At first I thought this might be an awkward night, because I thought I was going to be the youngest one there. Then the grandchildren arrived, all of which were my age! I met Alma's girls Kelly and Krista, and Kathy's children Steve, Julie, Greg, and Ryan. Steve is 24 and Julie is 22 and they told me they both come into the city quite a bit. We exchanged phone numbers and will hopefully be getting together whenever they come into the city. The funny thing about Kathy's family is that her last name is Wilson. So her son Steve is Steve Wilson. How hilarious is that?! And this is my MOM's side of the family. When we exchanged numbers, he put is number in my phone as "Stephen Wilson Not Dad." Priceless.

And thanks to Steve, I got to the train station the next morning that took my back into the city! See, I had made all these plans to get INTO the Pearl River by checking bus stations and schedules that I completely forgot how to I was going to get OUT of Pearl River. Steve told me at the party that he works minutes from the train station that goes right to Grand Central Station. He offered to pick me up from the hotel and take me to the station. He even checked out the schedule for me. It sure does pay to know people in NY!

It was a great weekend and I am so excited to have met my NY family that I didn't even know I had! They were so welcoming and I hope I get to go visit them often!