Portrait of a Red Solo Dot

All my life I've been surrounded by family.  In grade school, there was at least one Mulligan in every grade.  Thanks to my cousin, we doubled up in our grade for eight years.  The one year they allowed us to share the same classroom in the fifth grade, I recall our homeroom teacher on the last day of school telling us, "you two need to spend the whole summer together -- talking."

Her idea was brilliant.  We remained joined together at the hip until high school.   We competed against each other in tennis.  My cousin's team won the high school state championship all four years.  We faced each other in a dramatic match on my home court during our senior year.  I invited all my friends to come cheer for me but that didn't change the outcome.  I asked myself, is this guy unbeatable?  Maybe I should team up with him in doubles when we're older?  My cousin attended college in California; by the time I caught up with him he was already relocating back to Arizona.  Our California home was always filled to capacity by Mulligans who visited regularly.  We even talked one brave sister into moving into our neighborhood so we could continue the tradition our parents started when all the cousins attended the same school.

The state of Iowa now sports a red solo dot in the heartland of America.  We are the lone Mulligans in this great state.  Fortunately, the town we live in is a lot like Cheers -- everyone knows your name.  And we tell our children, "before you date anyone, find out if you're related."

What are the odds that this red solo dot family would move 1,800 miles, relocate in a small town, and discover one of our children wrestles on the same high school team and in the same weight class as one of his cousins on his mom's side of the family?  Deja vu?  I say, "let's have a party."  Yes, it may be true we're the only Mulligans in Iowa, however, we're now connected to some amazing people from the other side of the family tree and this town where our red solo dot is placed is a happy place to entertain friends and family.

Do you have a comment to share about how you stay connected to your family?  Click the comment button below to add to the conversation.