OUR BROTHERS ARE ALL IN THEIR SEVENTIES

The youngest of my three elder brothers turned 70 this year on Mother’s Day. Numbers are his thing, and he always thought his date of birth, 5-10-50, was nifty.

Last fall, my husband’s remaining brother of two turned 75. Two of our nieces turned 50, and one is already in her 50s.

When I started my family tree research, soon after our firstborn came into the world, I was in my 30s. Back then, I was at the lower end of the family age order charts. That son is now in his 30s, our daughter turned 30 last month, and I am inching to the higher ages on the charts. Even our younger son is about to pass a quarter-of-a-century. It’s the age-old question, where did the years go?

From all sides of my children’s ancestry, I have worked hard at keeping up with the leaves on the family tree. “It’s so important,” as my cousin Harry lamented, “to know where you come from, to figure out where you are going.”

A cousin who is approaching her 107th year, calls us kids. She, in turn, proves the aphorism; it isn’t the number but rather how old you feel. With the world pandemic wreaking havoc on our lives, we all feel overwhelmed these days. Now is the time to reacquaint with family for family matters.

My mantra is that everyone deserves a legacy. Through my writing, I work hard at making that happen. I discourage a lackadaisical attitude of resting on the adage; here today, gone tomorrow. With the help of family elders, the time to preserve family connections, as well as family history, is now.

We are fortunate to have a significant gene pool with numerous stories to share. Whether a relative is thrifty or thinks things are nifty, spiffy, or acts goofy, funny, or is just plain fun to be with, they deserve to be remembered and have their story recorded as well.

May my family live on and prosper. Looking forward to your news, which I am happy to report in one or more of my outlets, be it the family newsletters, my Tuesday blog post, my published newspaper or magazine articles, my appearances on the radio, or ultimately in my book. Be well, stay safe, and may you have continued success.

My brother-in-law Bryan and Brother Al December 2018

Jeffrey Marshal Cohen, PhD, z”l” (August 30, 1940-October 12, 2003) Yale University 1966