Family

I had reason today to see my father's brother and sisters. They once were a very large family, today there are only 5. They are all well into their 70's , for some 80 is around the corner. They all have many health issues, you might even say "fragile" health. As I stood around and watched them interact, two things stood out: love and laughter. They shared stories of their various aches and pains, and lamented the passing of family members. They reminisced about their childhood, and old friends. Above all they laughed and smiled and basked in the love of being together.

I am most times surprised at the closeness of such a large extended family as mine. I ponder how so many people, who are so vastly different from one another, united by a bloodline, have forged such lasting relationships. Our history started here on this island and through out the years many of us have returned, determined to continue where the last generation left off.

There are few aunts and uncles left but the cousins ... the cousins number in the gazillions (if you include both first and second cousins and all their kids). We, this generation are picking up the torch. We are all well versed in our culture and traditions. We can name most, if not all of our ancestors and what part of Puerto Rico they came from. We still cook and crave traditional Puerto Rican food, no matter what part of the world we find ourselves in. We revel in each other's triumphs and share in each other's sorrows. We are family.

My cousin Tony was here for a visit in October. He lives in Connecticut. He could have gone on a cruise with his wife Michelle and instead came to Puerto Rico with his 4 kids because he wanted them to "see" where he came from. He wanted them to experience their roots. (OK, maybe there were times during the trip when he wished he was cruising without the kids but still his heart was here.) He took them everywhere on the island. They went to all the sights, and they spent time with family. They checked out the pigs and livestock, they walked round the farm and picked fruit. Tony wanted to keep that connection to our culture alive in yet another generation.

My cousins reunion in Vegas is yet another example of our family ties. Some of the cousins had not seen each other in close to 30 years, yet from the moment we all arrived to the moment we said our good-byes, we were family. We talked endlessly about our lives and our culture. We filled each other in on family history. We spoke of the diversity of who we are, and the different paths some have chosen. We discussed (for hours) the craziness of belonging to this family.

Today, while I watched the last surviving aunts and uncles, I realized we had come full circle. From the aunts and uncles to Tony's visit to the cousins reunion, we loved and we laughed. Each generation doing their part to keep family and culture alive.

I am blessed and proud to be Boricua and carry this family name.