What is it about family?

This past weekend my husband, Gene, and I went to Kentucky to visit my cousin, Sonya, and do some book research while we were there.

Sonya graciously invited us to stay with her, which normally family would do, but this is a bit different.  You see, Sonya and I have never met in person.  This past year we’ve chatted via Facebook and text.  And, usually when Gene and I go to Kentucky, we stay with Sonya’s mom, Doris.  Who is my father’s cousin.  But, when we’ve been there, Sonya hasn’t been around for us to meet her.  But, through chatting on-line something we did know about each other, we were similar in so many ways.

We don’t look alike, Sonya is beautiful.  She has clear skin, beautiful dark hair, the most perfect smile and beguiling green eyes.  But, our personalities are so similar its uncanny.  I told her when we were leaving that I felt like we were sisters separated at birth.  Our sense of humor is the same, our attitude about things political and worldly are the same.  We have the same beliefs about church, being neighborly, family situations and having fun.  

During our visit Sonya took us to Keeneland and taught me how to bet on the horses.  It was so darned fun.  I didn’t win big, but I was able to cash in a couple of tickets and that’s pretty cool.  Then we went to Wilderness Trail Distillery for a tour.  Sonya roomed with Patrick Heist, one of the owners in college and she mentioned that I had a character in a book that was opening his own distillery and I’d love to come and chat with him.  He was so gracious and kind and invited us to tour.  He answered questions and told us all about the distillery business.  How he got started and so much more that I’ll share in another post.

But mostly, we laughed.  We had fun the whole weekend.  And, when we were tired, there wasn’t any awkwardness about needing to relax or take a nap.  

So, what is it about family?  How can two cousins (second cousins actually), who live in different states and have never met in 40 something years, be so similar?  Genetics are an amazing thing aren’t they?  It’s more than families looking alike.

Have you met a family member that surprised you at how similar you were?  Tell me about it, I’d love to know.

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