Relatives You Havnt Seen For Decades

[nailit]

My cousin (Mum's brother's daughter) and her husband came up to stoke to see my mum and the rest of the tribe today. Last time I saw her was 43 yrs ago when I was 11 yrs old.
Got a phone call to say that they were in Stoke but didnt know how to get to my mums address (from a printed out map...dont think that they have heard of googlemaps or sat navs!!)
Got a taxi to where they were, about a mile away to meet them and bring them home to my mums.
Got out of the taxi and recognized her immediately.
Older, on crutches etc but no mistaking her from all those years ago when I last saw her as a child and she was a teenager during a stay at her parents home on the out skirts of London.

Weird how you recognize your own after decades...

[Cloverjo]

True, nailit. I hadn’t seen my cousin for quite a while until our mums died within a year and we met again at their funerals. To me, my cousin looked exactly the same as she always had, whereas I felt I’d aged horribly.
She thought I looked my mum.

[nailit]

//She thought I looked my mum//
My cousin thought that I was the spit of my dad clover ;-)

[sherrardk]

I haven’t seen my biological father since I was 22, don’t even know if he’s still alive (I don’t think he is though).

[ummmm]

People don't forget other people. Not easily anyway.

I was in Ireland and was recognised because I looked like my aunt (my dads sister). He hadn't seen my aunt since school. Weird thing is....I actually look like my mum.

[naomi24]

How did they have your number? Have you kept in touch with them for all those years?

[douglas9401]

Come on Naomi, how many Nailits are there in the phone book?

[Buenchico]

It's easy to get mixed up when encountering relations one hasn't seen for years though. A couple of years back I got pressurised into going to my uncle's funeral. (I don't believe in funerals and I simply can't see the point of them). I'd been chatting to my cousin Pam, whom I thought that I'd recognised instantly, for ages before realising that she was actually Pam's sister, Jill.

It works both ways, of course. There were several relatives that I got blank looks from (as they'd clearly totally forgotten that I existed) when I greeted them.

[rowanwitch]

I always get "you haven't changed a bit" I hope I have, last time you saw me I was 11. Or you are looking well I.E fatter or have you lost weight. Ie. You haven't and I think you should, or don't you look like your mum.... Shall I kill myself now.

[waterboatman]

I have some relatives I only see when they want something.

[nailit]

//How did they have your number? Have you kept in touch with them for all those years?//
They had my mums number naomi, I was down there waiting for them when they rung. They got hold of her number when her father (mums brother) died last year.

[hereIam]

I met someone on Sunday who knew my parents back in the day. She told me that she should have known who I was as soon as I walked in as I looked just like my Dad. I had to hold back the tears, as she couldn't have said anything nicer to me. Made my day.

[SparklyKid]

My father used to say that the only good thing about distant relatives was the distance.