Skip to content

Tag: family

Cousin… Or, Coozahn

My cousin is the big sister I needed in this life. We spent a lot of time together in my teens, as she’d lived with us while going to university. I think she also kept me from losing myself in utter loneliness, but she was also one of the only people I didn’t mind being around all the time.

Owning the Story

My parents were never able to provide the emotional support or conscious partnership that each required from the other. They valued things differently. They certainly communicated in different love languages. They were never able to express these concerns. They had children, so they pushed through — but this, too, in my opinion, was a mistake. They came from a different generation, and from a different culture, one marked by struggle, endurance, perseverance, self-sacrifice, and, unfortunately, a deep-seated quiet desperation.