Visitors from Afar

My mom has always used "big words" with me. I don't believe she ever used baby talk, even in my first moments here on Earth. The result was a little girl who spoke well, read early and understood adult discussion more clearly than they could have imagined. But sometimes the big words didn't quite sink in. One of those was "afar."

"Afar" was, in my young mind, an amazing place. All sorts of people lived there. They had a variety of accents, clothing styles, food preferences. Some were brown. Some where white. Some were tall. They spoke of hot weather, wet weather, mountains, deserts. Where WAS this place, Afar?

This week, we had our own visitors from Afar; visitors we don't see often enough. Our Cousins from Somerset, England bring with them Afarish humor, news and treats. Their 10-year-old son fits in ever so nicely with our 9-year-old and 11-year-old girls. While children cavort, parents have time to visit, relax, even nap or read.

We enjoyed sharing American customs with our cousins again this trip: decorating Easter eggs chief among them. And with Mr. Cousin's love of sweet things and cooking, plus the timely arrival of a cooking magazine with recipes for JUST the thing he was hankering for, time in the kitchen rewarded us with superb sticky treats.

It may seem like the kids are too old for the Easter Bunny and egg hunting, but they're still keen on all the surprises childhood has to offer, and we enjoy playing along. It's fun to see them hunting for their basket and eggs which grow increasingly difficult for them to find each year. As long as they want to play, so will I.

We were sorry to see our cousins leave so soon, but vacation time is limited, and American cousins are numerous, so we had to share. Someday, we hope to join them in Afar.