A TIME MACHINE

 

This week was hard.  Had to say goodbye to another aunt.  This was on the Poff side of the family.  Jean lived a long, excellent life.  Married only one man, had 4 kids who all grew to adulthood and thrived.  She was a really great lady.

It got me thinking about the old days.  My Mom and Dad both were born into farming families.  My childhood memories are of running around on two different farms with lots of cousins!!!!  On the Poff side of the family Mom was the first-born daughter, second born child of 14, 12 of whom made it to adulthood.  From that 12, I eventually ended up with 33 cousins.  Most of these cousins I never got to know very well…. they were born way after I was an adult and on my own, or they lived far away from us.  There was 20 years between Mom and her youngest sibling… so you can understand the span.

On the Hallsted side there were 9 aunts and uncles who had 26 children (cousins for me).  The eldest of my father’s brothers and sisters, my Aunt Ruth, had 6 kids.  All of them I feel like I knew well.  Many of the others were again, either born after me, or lived too far away. 

Three of my cousins I have no memory of ever meeting.  One on each side of the family died while I was still very young.  One cousin on the Poff side is still with us, but I have no memory of ever meeting him. 

Part of the problem is that my family moved to Florida when I was 9 years old, and southwest Ohio was really the hub of the family for both sides.  So, while a few of the aunts and uncles moved to other parts of the country, the rest were mostly in Ohio.  When we moved to Florida, I lost contact with most of my family, except for one of my Mom’s sisters who lived in Tampa, and still, we did not see them that often.  So, all those cousins who were born after 1957, I just didn’t know. 

I’m dwelling on this, because the numbers are dwindling.  All the aunts and uncles on the Hallsted side have passed.  There are only 3 of the 14 left on the Poff side.  Of the original 59 cousins on both sides, only 40 are still with us.

I miss the family gatherings that used to take place.  When we were really little there were always Easter egg hunts and weekend poker overnights, and fabulous breakfasts at the Poff farm.  The Hallsted’s, for many years, hosted reunions all over the place, east of the Mississippi River and it was amazing how many of the Hallsted’s showed up.  They ended when the last Hallsted uncle passed. 

So, having another aunt pass, reminds me there is more of my life behind me than in front of me and that our generation is next up.  And all of these cousins are now grown, with families of their own.  Most are already grandparents and their circle of life circles around them. 

I think I need a time machine.