Saturday, October 2, 2021

Cousins / My 72nd Birthday


Yesterday was my 72nd birthday.  I usually keep my birthdays very simple.  Only a few friends near and far even know the date of my birthday.  When I had suggested to my first cousin who lives here in Bellingham that we meet with a fifth cousin from our grandfather's mother's side, my first cousin suggested that we meet at Big Rock Garden Park on my birthday.  Big Rock Garden is a short walk up the hill from where I live.  I agreed to the plan.  My first cousin and fifth cousin had not met before.  I worked as a hospital medical transcriptionist with my fifth cousin for years, unaware that we were cousins until I saw her name on my list of DNA cousins on Ancestry.com.  Our ancestors came from Nordfjord in Norway to the Midwest in the 1800s, one branch of the family settling in Western Minnesota and the other in Nebraska.  My fifth cousin's ancestors went on from Nebraska to Washington State and became dairy farmers about 10 miles north of Bellingham.  Although I was born in Northern California, I have lived in Bellingham since I was 24 years old.  My first cousin was born in Minnesota and came to live in Bellingham in the early 1980s.  My fifth cousin knows of another fifth cousin who was born locally.  I hope to meet her, too.  

After days of clouds and rain that included a wild roaring wind and rain storm, my birthday couldn't have had better weather, with sunshine, deep blue sky and beautiful big white clouds. 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy 72nd birthday to you, am! What a lovely way to spend. your birthday with cousins both close and distant. It's so wonderful to have family close by like this.

ellen abbott said...

Happy Birthday! I'll be 72 on my next one next year. I think back to my mother at 72 and she could hardly get around. I swore I would not be like her.

Pixie said...

I hope you had a lovely day. Researching ancestors is strange I'm finding. Apparently I have a lot more relatives than I realized:)

Joared said...

Belated happy birthday wishes!

Helen said...

Though I don’t know you, best wishes for your 72nd year of making a difference upon this earth. I am writing because I have recently acquired from the Assistance League two of your earlier paintings and I am so happy to sit at my dining room table and enjoy your definite style and detail. When I bought them, I didn’t know they were done by a local artist - that discovery has made my acquisition even more special. As of today, the 21st, there remains one more of your work on display at the Assistance League if you’re so inclined to check it out.
Thank you.

am said...

Helen -- Thank you so much for your kind note. It was my hope that someone like you would give my paintings a good home.