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May 17, 2004
Cycles
[Insomnia, Waxing Philosophic
Well, it’s official: my insomnia has returned. Perhaps my winter hibernation habits, characterized by long, luscious nights of uninterrupted sleep, were too good to be true. I’m sure that the warmer weather has something to do with my recent slumber issues. A weekend of minor sunburns might be adding to the problem, as well. Regardless, I am back to the 11:00 pm – 1:00 a.m. stretch of sleep, punctuated by a 1:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. period of tossing, turning, and frequent bouts of crossword puzzle solving. As a result, as readers might have noticed, my posts have been a bit more philosophic and introspective than usual. Please bear with me. ]
CYCLES
I grew up primarily around my father’s side of the family. Both of my parents are from Queens, however my paternal side is larger (pops is one of seven, my mother one of four) and more closely knit. My father is the oldest of the male siblings—so much so that he drove my grandmother to the hospital for the birth of his last brother. The result of this sibling sprawl is a large crop of grandchildren [my cousins] that are ten and younger. I am the oldest grandchild, followed by C eight years later, and then the younger flood, most of who were born when I was away at college.
My closest cousins are on my mother’s side—her older brother’s children, A & B, conveniently two years older and younger than I am, respectively. Traditionally, we have seen eachother in cycles, usually about 2 to 3 years apart, as my parents and I live in NY and they live in OH.
I last saw all four of them two summers ago at a family reunion, sans my parents. B, whom I hadn’t seen since he was about thirteen, was a man. It was really weird. The four Strums and three Tranchos have not seen eachother all together since 1994. TEN years ago. On Sunday, we will. A is getting married.
When I think of A & B, I think of the above picture. It was taken in Vermont twenty years ago. TWENTY. Holy fuck. That was the summer that I fell in love with Manchester, my parents’ future home. I also read my first chapter book () and became mesmerized by . It was also the summer that wove the closeness that I still feel for A & B today.
A's wedding will be quite an event. Apparently, keeping in step with the theme of family cycles, the cicadas have decided to make their 17-year appearance. Billions of them. Read either of the linked articles and you will come across the name Ault Park. Guess where A is getting married?
Cicadas or not, it will be nice to complete another family cycle. I’m sure that I will return with many a story. Actually, I’ve written several already, though their publication is being saved for a rainy day…or until I can figure out how to write them without…um…implicating people.
Posted by callalillie at May 17, 2004 11:15 PM | Introspect , La Familia
Your "big kid clothes" problems are solved if you can just find that same stripey patterned shirt. Paired with a black jacket or suit and perhaps some pearls...
Seriously, you were/are too cute for words.
Posted by: Scoxx at May 17, 2004 2:15 PM
Hee hee. I was going to do a followup post on big kid clothes at the end of the week. I finally found something for this mofo wedding (it's an afternoon(and apparently cicada-ridden) affair, so I opted not to get a dress) that doubles as work clothes. I'll just hold everyone in suspence :P
Posted by: corie at May 17, 2004 2:26 PM
Oh-- and I have an adult sized version of that stripey shirt. Seriously. Actually, I have two.
Posted by: corie at May 17, 2004 2:27 PM
Stripey pink is HUGE this year - talk about your cycles...
Posted by: Scoxx at May 17, 2004 2:34 PM
the Phantom Tollbooth, I love it. I remember being a condescending elementary school kid explaining that book to people.
Posted by: samm at May 17, 2004 3:01 PM
My alltime favorite part of TPTB is the description of letters having flavors-- a crisp "I," etc.
Posted by: corie at May 17, 2004 3:05 PM
BTW: You and C are only four years apart, not eight.
Posted by: jane at May 17, 2004 3:20 PM
I missed a C! I was charting metro area Trancho cousins-- the real breakdown would be me +4 yrs Co +2 years (is that right?) Ai + 2yrs Ch, Na, etc. Sounds like a list of chemicals.
Posted by: corie at May 17, 2004 3:25 PM
