The Bond - My Cousin Alaina

(Left: Me and Right: Alaina... matching outfits from about 1997...lol)

Some of my cousins became close with me at different points in my life. Alaina always has been my closest cousin. We connected on the most positive of levels. We were a team. She was the one who showed me the value of education. I was always jealous of how incredibly smart she was. She hit university first and exposed me to university life. She showed me the fun and the work involved with furthering her education. She took me to parties with my fake ID and we danced the night away. She wasn’t too proud to come to my high school and hang out there too. She had my back no matter where we were.

She was also the one who dried most of my tears because we were so close during that teenage emotional stage where every relationship feels like it’s the one, only to break up within weeks. Every break up, she would tell me how he didn’t deserve me and how God had something better planned for me. She would get me up and out and find us some matching outfits and we’d be having fun before the conversation had a chance to finish. We all need a sistah like this, who can kick your butt into gear when needed. Someone who can laugh at all the same things and feel your pain as if it’s her own. Someone who won’t judge, but just loves.

(Left: Me and Right: Alaina, the night she told us about her 4th pregnancy and we celebrated her newest bump)

            

Over the years we drifted when we grew to have our own families, but I still know I can call her if I need to talk. Whenever we can make arrangements to get out of the house at the same time, we take that time just to sit and catch up. The fact that we are cousins makes this easier because we can get together with the whole crew and it feels like home. This bond allows me to be myself and be raw with my emotions with her. This is the purest form of sistahood.