as I was celebrating my cousin's kid's 8-year-old birthday with family in virginia this past wknd (what does that make her, btw? my cousin? my second cousin? my cousin once removed? does anyone know?), I spent some time catching up with my uncle. he's gotten somewhat sentimental in his old age (I think he's 70+ and thankfully very healthy and strong), and I make it a point to spend at least a few minutes chatting with him at every family gathering. he's known me since I was born (obviously), and he and my aunt were pretty much my surrogate grandparents while I was growing up (since I never really knew either of my grandfathers and both of my grandmothers still live in Korea)... you know, the usual stuff... we would have to do whatever he said, they would spoil us rotten at Christmas, they liked listening to me play piano during family events, etc...
so we chatted about my job, about my potential interest in grad school, about my current clients, yadda yadda yadda. and next, in what's starting to become a tradition at every family gathering, he began lecturing me on how I should find a nice man and get married soon. I politely laughed it off and told him that while I am open to the idea, it's not likely going to happen any time soon, that I'm only 26 and have plenty of time (this is quickly becoming my stock response, along with a quick retort that he should be talking to my brother, who is three years older than me... but you know, the whole Asian family / he's a boy thing... etc.).
he agreed that "my generation" was doing things differently but then told me that he wanted to see me married before I turned 30, which gives me exactly four years to get my MRS degree. no pressure or anything. when I asked him what the logic was behind that very stringent timeline, he told me that "once you hit 30, the next thing you know... you're 60!"
I know I majored in English and everything, but it seems to me that he might be missing a few decades in there, no...?
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Gotta love the elder people of the family with their lectures and "wise ways."
ReplyDeleteOh, and to answer your question, your cousin's kid would be your first cousin, once removed. (Your potential offspring would be their second cousin... its all about grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, and so on.)
Yep, first cousin once removed! I'm so sad that someone beat me to the family-tree-punch. I pride myself in knowing that stuff.
ReplyDeletewow, i kind of feel cheated out of a third of my life. on the upside, if we miss the "marriage by 30" boat, it's just a hop, skip, and & jump to 60! then we can marry wealthy widowers and spend our retirement in style.
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