I just had ...

... the cutest conversation with my cousin, Chris.  He's actually my second cousin, but he's still a cuz.  'Cuz.

Chris belongs to my cousin Judy.  Judy belongs to my Uncle Jack.  Jack was the brother of my mother.

Ever since we've been in Texas (seven years now?) we have joined Judy and her family for Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter meals.  Just 'cuz.  But only for the last seven years.  It was a bit harder to do when I lived in California.

So, that said, you need to know that Chris is 22, very intelligent, a graduate of SMU in Dallas and funny as all get out.  Handsome, too.  Chris has two beautiful sisters, Courtney and Chandler.  Courtney, at 24, is as adorable as they come, too, and just finished a run on Broadway (yes, THEE Broadway) in "Bring It On, The Musical."  Chandler, 20, is the baby of the group but she's no slouch, either.  She landed a job working with Courtney's show on Broadway and has just returned to O.U. in Norman, OK, where she's studying stage management.  Just 'cuz.  She's also the only freshman to be accepted onto their Varsity Cheerleading Squad.  Just 'cuz, too.

Okay, so where was I going with this?  Oh yeah.  We all sat down to dinner and I had a nice chat with Chris.  He was sitting across from me.  We were not discussing world peace or anything of any real caliber (because I DID NOT graduate from SMU) but we were chatting simply about days gone by.  And about some past events that I shared with his mom, Judy.  I mentioned how upset his mom got when she lost her glasses on a cross country trip we all took... at age 12... and how we had to go back to our last two stops to look for them.  About that time, Chris got a funny look on his face. 

"What?" I asked.

"So, uh, just how long have you known my mom?" Chris asked.

"Forever."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope.  I met her when she was three and I was five."

** Pause **

"Chris...  Your mom is my cousin.  Her father, YOUR GRANDFATHER was my mother's brother." 

"Seriously?  You knew my grandpa?  You knew Grandpa Jack?"   ** Pause **   "Huh.  I just thought your family was some random family that my parents adopted and invited over for holidays."

??

So, uh, SMU?  Yeah, not so good.  The kids are cute but they are lacking a bit when they get out.

;)