Cousins We Will Always Be, Special Friends From the Same Family Tree

Jim and Garry Porter 2017

This week we said goodbye to my Uncle Garry. My mom's younger brother passed away on February 15, 2017. The funeral highlighted a life well lived. It was fun to learn things about my Uncle Garry that I didn't know. What I do know about Uncle Garry is that he has always been so good to me and to my family. My kids love to walk down and visit Uncle Garry and Aunt Rula every time they visited the mountain and they always knew they would receive a warm welcome. Uncle Garry gave the best hugs.

It seems strange to say that a funeral is fun--and maybe "fun" isn't the right word, but Tuesday, February 21st was a wonderful day and an awesome reunion. I spent the day with some of the choicest people on this earth: my cousins.


Porter Family Reunion 2017: Cousins picture
Back row: Mark Black, Neil Porter, Wayne Porter, Mariann Taylor, Teb Black, Ryan Porter, Troy Porter
Front row: Kathy Cowley, Me, Carol Howell, Susan Crawford

My Porter cousins are special people. They are my first and longest lasting friends; they are lots of fun; they love to laugh; they have my back; they are Family in every iteration of the word. As we loved, reminisced, and mourned together I felt such peace, and I hope they did too.

I was the first grandchild in our family but I'm not the oldest cousin. Carol joined the family when she was five and I have admired her and looked up to her ever since. As cousins, we have enjoyed each other's company for decades. My cousins are my best friends.

Our favorite gathering place is Cove Mountain. We congregate there every Labor Day to chat, laugh, and catch up. Tradition bonds family together.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Want My Life To Be As Clean As Earth Right After Rain

Image
Yesterday was a big day for our family-- Andrew David Hastings was baptized and confirmed by his father Jonathan David Hastings. It was a special rainy day (Sister Debbie Welch, in her talk about the Holy Ghost, reminded us that the earth feels clean after rain). Andrew and Hailey Brixley, Savanna Welch, and Jaycee Young--three beautiful young women from his ward--became the newest members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and started on their journey back to Heavenly Father--to live eternally with Him. Andrew's grandfather's Floyd Hastings and Linel John Larsen served as witnesses for this special ordinance and Grandpa Hastings noticed that Andrew's toe might have come out of the water so Andrew got to be dunked twice. He was then confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost by his dad, supported by his grandpas, his Hasting uncles, and his Uncle Sheldon. After the baptism, we went back to Andrew's house where we enjoyed great company and de...
Read more

Charity Never Faileth--Confessions of a Reluctant Relief Society Servant

Image
Yesterday was the Riverton South Stake Relief Society Social. The social commemorated the 175th anniversary of Relief Society. Sister Sharlene Harsh took our theme "Anchor Your Faith in Christ" from a President Monson quote that reads, "We must develop the faith necessary to survive spiritually and to project a light for others. We must nurture our testimony until it becomes an anchor to our lives." We started planning this event six months ago and as March drew near I started to worry "what if no one comes?" We had a few last minute challenges when Katherine had to work and Becky came down with a whopping case of the flu; But, yesterday was a resounding success and because I'm celebrating the completion of a huge RS task I've been thinking a lot about my relationship with Relief Society. Mom used to say that she was a "Mutual Mormon." She meant that most of her life she served with the youth in Mutual or now it would be called Young ...
Read more

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love it because it's all about gratitude, and family. I found a post with 30 days of thanks that I want to do. What smell are you grateful for today? Like most women, I love the smell of chocolate (and bacon). I love the smell of new babies, and fresh mown grass, and the ocean. Strangely, I love the smell of manure. Manure smells like farms and Grandpa Porter. When I was small and we visited Grandpa and Grandma Porter, Grandpa would get up early and go feed the cows. If I got up early I could go with him--and I LOVED to do chores with Grandpa. First, we would eat bread and milk, sprinkled with green onions, for breakfast. Now I'm sure that if my mom served bread and milk and green onions for breakfast I would have balked, but I'd do (and eat) anything to be with my grandpa. I haven't had this special breakfast for many years but I remember it fondly. Next, we walked out to the corrals to feed the home cows. We forked hay into ...
Read more