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I got home Friday at 6:00 pm, got up at 6:00 the next morning to be out the door by 8:00. We still had to go through detours around main street to find a place to park. I knew my cousin was going to be there so we decided to meet up. It's not hard to do in such a small town (current population about 900); she was about a block away so she was easy to find. She's 6 years younger than I am and the only time we really saw each other is when our families were together. Her dad (my dad's brother) was an alcoholic too, so we shared the same struggles although maybe didn't realize it at the time.

She's had a rough life and battled addictions many times before recovery stuck. I think she's been clean now for about 8 years. Her daughter followed in her footsteps but is now also clean. 

We watched the parade and chatted for an hour, then she was heading back to Spokane to fly home to Hawaii on Sunday. Her parents are gone and so are mine, so even though there is distance in age and location; we're still family.

The parade was so funny; it lasted an hour but could have easily been done in 30 minutes. The entrants were spaced almost a block apart to make it seem larger. After that, we got something to eat; the obligatory German sausage and kraut. Walked around some more and ran into some HS friends, bought some goodies for home and left town by 1:00.  It was a quick trip but I'm glad we went. My 50th HS reunion is next year so I'm thinking maybe....maybe I'll go.