National Cousins' Day 

July 24 is National Cousins' Day, and most of us certainly have cousins. I grew up an only child, so my cousins were especially important to me. 

By some strange quirk, most of my female cousins were on my father's side of the family - 6 girls and 1 boy. On mother's side there were 7 boys and 2 girls. All of us lived within fifteen miles of each other.

In about 25 of the states, it's illegal for cousins to marry, because they're considered too closely related. In the others, first cousins and more distantly related are allowed to marry. Many of these are in the South. For example, in North Carolina, it's legal for first cousins to marry but not double first cousins. If you remember, in Gone with the Wind, the Wilkes family always married their cousins, and Ashley, the man Scarlett first wanted, did likewise.

I was was close to many of my cousins when we were young, and we spent a lot of time playing together. They were more like brothers or sisters to me. I'm sure they looked at me as a sister, too. I appreciate all my cousins, so HAPPY COUSINS' DAY! You may want to tell yours the same.

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