My American Cousins

L-R: Alan, Lanna, Lanny, Helen, Me


I remember the very first time I met my American cousins. My parents and I arrived in Canada and settled in with my Aunt (my Dad’s mother’s sister) in a little house on Gillard Avenue in the east end of the city. Within two or three months, my Uncle (my Mom’s younger brother) and hisfamily from New York City came to visit us in Toronto. At that time, my Mom and my Uncle had not seen each other in over 15 years. I remember my Mom bursting in tears when she saw her younger brother for the first time after all those years. The tears of joy naturally flowed out.

I was 8 years old then and my cousins Lanny and Lanna were 4 and 3 respectively. Despite our age difference and our cultural difference (they spoke English, I did not), we really got along well. Being a single child, I never really experienced the hustle and bustle of having siblings around to fight over toys, over food, over who’s the most liked by Mom and Dad. So, for me, it was a nice change of pace.

Over the next few years (other than a quick one week visit to NYC with my parents), I never really saw my cousins again until my high school years. During that time period between visits, Helen was born.

My fondest memory of Helen was when we were playing a game called “memory”. She was 3 at the time and I was 15. I couldn’t believe it, but she beat me at the game each time we played! It just goes to show that the older we get, the quicker we lose our memory.

During those summers, I would spend my summer holidays in New York (more specifically Huntington, Long Island) with my cousins. I had so many wonderful memories—the fishing trips with my Uncle, midnight swims in the backyard pool, hearing my cousins’ stories about their latest crush, and the squatting of fireflies with our ping pong paddles and watching them trail off like little airplanes. Yeah I know, it was cruel. But at the time, it was so much fun!

Looking back, those summer vacations in Long Island were some of the best days of my life—so carefree and relaxing. I always hated having to leave and come back to Toronto for school. One summer, I stayed so long that eventually, my Uncle had to drive me back to Toronto because I wouldn’t leave. I guess I overstayed my welcome.

This past Thanksgiving weekend, I had the priviledge to witness my eldest cousin Lanny’s wedding. I had not seen my cousins in 8 years! When I saw them again last Saturday at the banquet hall, the precious memories of our childhood came flooding back and hit me like a ton of bricks. We are now all grown up with responsibilites, but for a brief few hours last weekend, we were once again those care free kids back in Long Island.