Big Italian Families

I did not come from a big family. I had a few Aunts, Uncles and cousins, and we were never very close (either in proximity or bond.) I saw my grandparents once or twice a year on a big holiday (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter or summer vacation,) and cousins even less frequently. The term cousin in our family referred to first cousins all of whom were born in the same generation between 1958 and 1968. Our boys have no first cousins.

That must be why the Warino family and its member’s connections to one another is so fascinating to me. Dom’s excitement about the new family blog is contagious and I feel that I have come to know all of you through the stories (both posted and unposted!) I must say, however, that I stay confused about who is related to whom and how. I actually wrote down a scorecard of sorts just so I would not have to keep asking “Whose daughter is she again?” or “Whose brother is that?” The scorecard only goes through the first cousins (two generations from Fanny and James.) Then I started getting lost in the “first cousins once removed,” and “second cousins;” and you can just forget about my ever figuring out a “second cousin twice removed.” Apparently there are none of those yet.

So when Nic and Sonny look at the blog and the pictures, and ask how they are related I patiently try to figure out the Math and explain the relationship. Dom on the other hand just simply says, “Oh, that’s your cousin.” To which they reply, “Cool! Which viscot recipe do they use?”