Family Ties

This week, I had to drive back and forth from Narragansett to northern Rhode Island much too much. On one of my trips back to school, I stopped at my cousins house in Johnston to cut his daughter's guinea pig's nails. As I turned into their development, I realized how long it had been since I'd visited. When he first moved here with his new wife and two twin stepchildren it was almost like my second home in the summer. They would take weeks off in the summer to bring the kids to every local tourist trap; six flags, Block Island, Sturbridge village, Mystic, Boston, and they always brought me along. I drove through the once-familiar neighborhood that was in my opinion one of the nicest in Johnston. The houses beautiful, not mansions, but not tiny either. They are far enough apart that you could have a part in one and not disturb the neighbors. The only drawback is that there are no trees to speak of- it's like it was developed in the middle of a giant field.
I pulled up to their house, wondering who's car was in the driveway.Then I realized that it had been so long since I'd last seen them that they most likely had a different car by now. The backyard was almost unrecognizable- they had added a beautiful two-story deck that led from the second floor, the main floor, to the new pool. The jungle gym was new, and there was a trampoline next to it. If only we'd had all that to play on seven years ago.
As I got out of my car, I faced a conundrum: the garage wasn't open, which was where I used to enter the house from. The light was off in the back, which would have been my second choice. Feeling awkward and out of place, I walked up to the front door and knocked. No answer. I deliberated for a moment, then realized I should probably ring the doorbell. How strange. My cousin's wife (who I usually referred to as my aunt, and him as my uncle because of their age) greeted me with a smile and a big hug. The smell of their house, which I could never describe (or find bottled anywhere, I've looked) washed over me. A million memories came flooding back, serving only to remind me of the expanse of time that had passed since I'd last been here.
Family arguments (not involving me), my cousins and I growing older, my moving to college, loss, replacement, and hurt all went unsaid as we put everything aside to enjoy a few short hours together again as family.