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Your cousins, as the children of your aunts and uncles, are part of your extended family. Generally, they are close to you in age, in much the same way that your aunts and uncles are close in age to your parents. Your relationship with your cousins is generally more sympathetic than the one you share with your siblings -- you don't have to live with them! The tensions and petty arguments you might share with a sib are usually absent with cousins.

As you are related to your cousins by blood, though, a stronger bond tends to form with them than with other friends. Many times, a cousin can act as a bridge between a sibling and a friend, someone who will stick with you through good and bad but won't nag you along the way. A special kinship often forms between cousins, one of solidity, strength and mutual respect, to say nothing of shared history and good times.

As family reunions and holidays often show, cousins are friends for life, people who know you well and love you all the same.

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