When I was a kid, I grew up thinking everyone must have a favorite cousin like me! Someone who they connected with off the bat, didn’t have to explain themselves too, and spent at least part of their summer with them when school let out each year. I had no idea that my relationship with my cousin Heather was such a special one until I got much older.
As kids Heather and I were opposites in many ways. The most apparent way was that she was gregarious, and a total extravert and I was shy and introverted. She was loud and boisterous and seemed comfortable in her own skin; I was quiet and incredibly self-conscious. We were both creative though and we both liked to sing and act goofy, and when you are nine and eleven that’s really all that matters!
I can think of many fun memories we had together but here are a few that stand out for me. Firstly, our favorite word was EYEBALL! Speaking this word out loud to each other had a hysterical effect on the both of us! Just the mention of the word at sporadic times during our day sent us into laughing fits and soon it was clear that Heather was certainly my favorite EYEBALL! The word could be substituted for any phrase we came up with such as, “He’s such an EYEBALL!” whatever that meant, or “You EYEBALL!” which could mean once again, anything depending upon the circumstances of which we were speaking! So, not only did I have a special relationship with a special cousin, but I also had a secret code word – EYEBALL that only the two of us really understood.
One summer Heather came to visit me, and we spent a week going to gymnastics camp together. One of the festivities was “Luau Friday” where the campers were told to dress up Hawaiian style to enjoy a fun Friday together. Heather and I were psyched! We loved dressing up, goofing off, and having fun, and this was just the occasion to be creative! My mom and sister had gone to Hawaii on a trip the year before and had brought back Hawaiian shirts with big Hibiscus flowers on them and genuine Hawaiian jewelry. I remember sitting at the dining room table making home-made Hawaiian leis using cut out paper flowers and string. Man, we were into it! The next day we woke up, put our leotards on, and our Hawaiian shorts, shirts, leis, and jewelry on over them. We looked like we just stepped off a plane and were heading to the beach! Mom dropped us off and we were so excited to see what everyone else would be wearing! To our bewilderment, we soon realized that we were the only two out of a group of twenty girls that dressed up for Luau Friday! We thought this was hilarious! As we were instructed to go for our daily jog to warm up before practice, Heather, and I, laughing all the way down the road in our Hawaiian outfits, had the best time ever! We learned a very important lesson that day which Oscar Wilde quotes perfectly: “Life is far too important to be taken seriously!”
Lastly, there’s a story that my Uncle Otis likes to share with family about Heather and me. I think we were in our early teens, and I had taken a bus to Boston on my way up to spend time with Heather and my Maine family. I don’t remember why I got off in Boston and not Portland, but I do remember making the phone call and asking my Uncle Otis if he wouldn’t mind too much to pick me up! Of course, he wouldn’t mind, and he and Heather hopped in the car to make the journey to Boston to pick me up before the evening got too late as I was waiting precariously by myself at the bus station. When they arrived, I was so happy to see them! Uncle Otis put my luggage in the car, Heather and I hopped in the back seat, and laughed, for no apparent reason, all the way back to Portland! We didn’t say a thing, we just laughed! I have never had a relationship with anyone else in my life whose presence could evoke such spontaneous joy and laughter, for the reason of just being together. Looking back on it, I truly know how special our childhood relationship was, and even now as time has seemingly separated us, a joyous, spontaneous laughter fills my heart when I think of my cousin Heather and our precious childhood times together.
I love you EYEBALL.
