Relations

There are 31 cousins on my mother's side of the family with an age range of about 20 years. I am number 16. Right in the middle.

People speak of middle child syndrome often enough that I expect all my American readers to have at least heard of the concept. Is there a middle grandchild syndrome that I should be displaying signs of? No? Okay, then.

Anyway. My cousins.

When I was small I remember the oldest of my cousins seeming so far away from where I was, and I'm not referring to geographic distance. They were so high above me that it didn't even occur to me to try to really connect with them. My experience with the younger cousins was similar - they were too little so we had nothing in common. I pretty much ignored both groups a lot of the time because our worlds were just so different.

But now the age difference doesn't seem nearly so large. I feel like I can relate to them, older and younger. Not perfectly, of course, but enough to be friends.