Arizona

We were in Arizona last week, visiting family and taking a drive to Sedona to see those beautiful mountains. Such a peaceful part of the state, but lots of tourist traffic on the roads.  My Uncle Tony passed away a few years ago, and my aunt seems lost without him. I can understand that... they were the perfect couple for more than sixty years. “Respect each other and keep no secrets!” — that was their mantra.

My two cousins in AZ are both grandparents now... so hard to believe, since we all once shared the children’s table in my grandmother’s kitchen for holiday and Sunday dinners. My cousin Dave has three young grandsons and when they came to see us, the four-year-old was wearing Harry Potter glasses and holding the first Harry Potter book. Right then, he stole my heart. When we got back home, I boxed up some of my after-school Book Club stuff for each of the boys... wands and club buttons and bookmarks, and even reading medals for each of them. They will get the package this week, and I wish I could be there to see the boys opening the gifts.

We were out somewhere in the AZ desert one night, for a star-gazing show hosted by my cousin.... telescopes were set up to view the moon and the stars. I would have been able to enjoy the night sky a bit more if I hadn’t kept looking down and imagining that rattlesnakes were surrounding us all.

It was so good to see everyone out there, talking about the old days in NY... and realizing that except for our 106-year-old Aunt Dolly, our generation of cousins is at the top of the family totem pole.