Cousins!

I would not wish my childhood on Uta. By his age I had witnessed more fighting and division than one should have in a lifetime. I knew sadness so overflowing it made it hard to see, and cruelty between the ones I loved the most. Uta thinks a 'fight' is a heated debate about what color to paint the bathroom. He scolds me and Pop when we can't agree on the perfect shade of yellow. "Guys" he says, "stop fighting!" Fighting? If he only knew... But what my childhood had that his is truly missing is a big family. Growing up I had lots of cousins on both sides whom we saw often. I had lots of aunts and uncles and grandparents that felt close. Uta has us. He has special occasion visits with grandparents here, and semi-annual visits with family in Japan. Very rarely we manage to get together with all those cousins I grew up with. Recently we had one such rare visit. My mom's family all gathered together to celebrate the coming baby and Uta's important transition into big brotherhood. It was without a doubt one of the happiest days of Uta's life. He barely knows all those people, mostly my cousins and second cousins, and yet they loved and adored him from the get-go. In response Uta's confidence skyrocketed, instantly. Nobody there would probably believe me if I told them how shy he normally is. He marched around like king of the party. It is a side of him that rarely surfaces. I'm so grateful to my family for their kindness and encouragement. Uta is one lucky boy to be so loved by so many.