Day 53

I have 10 cousins (I have three daughters, all of which......(inside joke)) . They are all great and unique people in their own right. Growing up I spent a ton of time with my cousins, something that most families don't do. Now that we are older, I see less of them because we are all spread out, but I have gotten a lot closer with some of them. I think we now see things differently than we did as kids.

This blog entry is dedicated to my cousin Julie, one of the coolest and most down to earth people I know. Her birthday was yesterday, and in typical TD fashion, I totally forgot! Jules is a lot like me in the sense that we are the younger and to some senses wilder siblings in our family. Over the past 6-7 years, essentially once Jules came into her own, we have become very close. She attended the University of Wisconsin and on her way to and from school, she always stayed with Leah and I. We have spent some high quality times together. Whether it be in Florida for Grandpops 90th or going to see the Greyboy Allstars at the House of Blues in Chicago, fun always seems to follow with us. One of my alltime favorite times that the family spent together was when we went out to Nighttown the Saturday night of thanksgiving to celebrate Julie's 21st b-day. The crew was in full effect. We had myself, Leah, Kathy, Steve, "Cousin" Brendan, Debbie, Steve J, Susie, Uncle Kenny, Aunt Linda, and a bunch of Julie's friends. Lets just say we closed the place down. I haven't seen our family having that much drunken fun in years. Uncle Kenny was in rare form downing Scotch's like it was his job. Fun was had by all. I always talk about trying to "recreate Julie's 21st" but it never seems to happen.

Jules has such a big heart. She is very independent. After she graduated from school, Julie went on a 40 day solo cross country trip that started in Cleveland and ended in San Francisco where she now lives. She made stops all over the country to party and visit friends. My friend Dave who has spent time with Julie has always told me how he doesn't know anyone else who could have pulled that trip off successfully the way she did. Both Julie and her sister Kathy are pretty amazing like that. They have both done their own things and have been successful in doing so. I couldn't be prouder of her. She is now working for the Timbuk 2 bag company in San Francisco and living in the big city. San Francisco is lucky to have her, and I am lucky enough to have her for my cousin. They don't come much cooler than Julie.

Song of the Day: "2 of America's Most Wanted" by 2Pac.