Journal entry by Al Negstad — 25 minutes ago
From 1928, until 1941, eleven cousins were born, joining six older cousins, children of my mother and her siblings. The oldest of these cousins had her own family of six children, the oldest of whom was Wesley born in 1937, and therefore older than some of the first cousins. We grew up together and old photographs show the clan gathered at one of the parental farms. My father is never in the picture because he had the camera.
When Joanne joined the family she found the cousin connection fascinating because her family was smaller and more scattered. However, she was a childhood friend of L, one of the cousins who had often talked about her relatives. The family, descendants of my grandparents, Olai & Minnie Bergh, still gather for a family reunion every two years. Typically there are about 80 persons in attendance.
Wesley died yesterday. As youngsters at family events he would pair up with my older brother and I with Wesley's younger brother, the late Ronald, who was just a month younger than I. Wesley was a story teller and at the family reunions he was always at the center of a group regaling them with stories from his youth.
Is old age a gift? My experience says "yes", but there certainly is much loss and grief with the passage of time. May God bless the memory of my cousin Wesley.
Blessings,
Al
When Joanne joined the family she found the cousin connection fascinating because her family was smaller and more scattered. However, she was a childhood friend of L, one of the cousins who had often talked about her relatives. The family, descendants of my grandparents, Olai & Minnie Bergh, still gather for a family reunion every two years. Typically there are about 80 persons in attendance.
Wesley died yesterday. As youngsters at family events he would pair up with my older brother and I with Wesley's younger brother, the late Ronald, who was just a month younger than I. Wesley was a story teller and at the family reunions he was always at the center of a group regaling them with stories from his youth.
Is old age a gift? My experience says "yes", but there certainly is much loss and grief with the passage of time. May God bless the memory of my cousin Wesley.
Blessings,
Al
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