“There is no surprise more magical than the surprise of being loved.” ― Charles Morgan
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My doorbell rang early this morning. Well, not that early, but I wasn’t expecting anyone. I’d already been out early to walk the dog, but decided to lay back down a while. I scrambled to the door and tried to look out the peep hole, but couldn’t make out the face. When I opened the door, a somewhat familiar, yet unfamiliar face looked back at me. He smiled and said, “I heard you were looking for a handyman.” I politely said, “No, not really!” He continued to grin.
The mustached mouth smirked out, “Cousin Toni!” Oh my God, it was cousin Larry! I just reached out and hugged him tight. I haven’t seen my cousin in, why, must be thirty-five years or more. But, I recognized that smirk, just like his dad before him, the spitting image of my favorite Uncle Charlie.
Larry lives in Teaxas, not close by, but you know, Texas is a big ol’ state. I started chatizing and hugging at the same time. “”Why didn’t you call? What if I wasn’t home?” His only reply was that he wanted to surprise me. How sweet! I’m sure glad I was home.
We sat and chatted a long time. I made coffee and offered some cookies that I baked last night. I gave him a tour of my house and showed him the infamous”crap room,” now officially the cleaned-up organized craft room. I showed him all my many paintings, watercolors, sketches, etc. I remember Larry was a fine artist when he was young. We reminisced about the good old days, growing up days, family, and life in general.
I’m not sure what magic brought my cousin to my door this morning, but what a wonderful surprise. I love keeping in touch with family, and each old memory and rekindled relationship is a blessing.
Thanks for the surprise visit, Cousin Larry.
“There is no surprise more magical than the surprise of being loved.”
― Charles Morgan
Toni Andrukaitis 