I recently had the pleasure of attending one of my eldest cousin’s wedding across the country. Not only was I extremely excited to celebrate her and her marriage to my new cousin, but I was also very much looking forward to the fact that this wedding was acting as a huge family reunion (at least for one side of my family). Instead of having a traditional rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, my cousin chose to label this gathering as a family reunion. When the time came, we all went to the restaurant and were escorted to our private room. Although it was overwhelming, everyone was making the rounds--lots of hugs and different conversations made for a very loud room. But it was the best kind of noise. And as the night went on, with each passing minute, I grew more appreciative of my cousins (and my aunts and uncles). There was never a dull moment, because we all had so much to catch up on--college, jobs, significant others, etc.--and we did so with a lot of laughing mixed in. So here’s just a few reasons why I love all of my cousins so much.
1. Tons of time can pass but when you do reunite, you pick up right where you left off
Whether it's been one year or one month since you've seen each other, you are always ecstatic to see them again. There never seems to be enough time with your cousins--it takes a lot for you to get sick of 'em.
(via gurl.com)
2. You can laugh about your parents/aunts/uncles together
Even though you tell people all about your family and their weird yet incredibly entertaining antics, your cousins are the only ones who can truly sympathize. Even just observing all of your parents together makes for entertainment in itself, and is sure to provide so much laughter that you can barely breathe. As weird as your family members can be sometimes, you and your cousins always laugh it off. 
(via tumblr.com)
3. You have history with them that can't be beat
When you were younger, you saw your cousins much more often and you had a blast doing all your weird little-kid stuff--running around, bothering the older cousins, getting into trouble together. You had the same grandparents, which made for incredible shared memories, and you created countless memories when you spent holidays together. As everyone got older, it became more difficult to see each other, but when you did... you had that inseparable bond because of your shared history, and that was and always will be special.
4. You can tell them anything
Sure, that’s what your siblings are for too, but disclosing things to your cousins is even better because they cannot and will not ever rat you out to your parents. It’s kind of like an unspoken rule between cousins. Tell them everything with a no-risk policy.
(via hexjam.com)
5. You rarely fight with them
Having cousins is like having extra siblings, but with no downsides. They are always there for you no matter what, you can talk about everything with them, they give great advice, and they never judge you. All this (and more), plus the massive bonus of never fighting with them, is pretty darn great. If you were like me and were very fortunate to spend a lot of time with all of your cousins growing up, you would agree that all that time still never equated to them actually being your siblings. You weren’t spending 24/7 with them, so there was no time for you to ever get as angry at them as you did with your siblings (there’s just something about siblings that makes you more inclined to fight constantly and get on each other’s nerves)...and that made all the difference. Again, cousins are like brothers and sisters, with all the good and none of the bad.
(via google.com)
6. You get to watch each other grow
Although it’s a little cheesy, it is really fun to watch all your cousins grow up. You had tons of good times when you were youngsters, but now everyone is maturing and it’s a little sad because you miss the simpler days, but nonetheless you are extremely happy for them. They have successful jobs and relationships and have done so many cool things in the past few years that you are so proud of them. And you can’t help but brag about them every once in a while.
(via supergenericgirl.com)
7. It’s a beautiful thing when you all reach the general adult age range
Again, it was fun to be little mischievous munchkins running around together back in the good ole days, but now it’s also pretty fun that you’re all old enough to talk about more mature topics. The older cousins no longer have to censor everything they say around the rest of the cousins, because we can all handle it at this point. You can all be free adults around each other, while still leaving room to reminisce about your earlier memories together. So enjoy going out with your cousins and finally being able to just talk about life beyond a PG perspective.
(via netizenbuzz.com)
8. You're constantly making more memories
As if you don’t have enough already. Each time you get together with one or many of your cousins, you’re guaranteed to laugh till tears come out, and thus make even more memories. No matter what you're doing, having your cousins there is always a gigantic plus.
(via huffingtonpost.com)
Cousins are best for so many reasons, and there's no way I could list them all here. Thanks for being the best listeners, my partners in crime, and for always making me laugh. So here's to all my cousins--I love you so much.
Big hugs xo
(via livejournal.com)
