FAMILY RESEMBLANCE

Three women meet on a sizzling afternoon in a city park in Tucson. Related by blood but scattered by long-ago family migration, we come together to get acquainted, share stories, and dare I say, measure each other up. Separated by several-times removed kinship lines and three generations, today is the day to meet on our own terms.

First we look for connections: Kay and Molly grew up in Montana, Kay and Nancy spent adult lives in northern California, Kay and Molly now live in Tucson. Kay is the most distant relation, but has the greatest family resemblance. We all love exploring the outdoors.

With Molly as botanist and Kay as backroads maven, we get in the car and head for Sonoita, then south through Madera Canyon. Between botany and geology we catch up on family news and share family lore. We pry cautiously into each others lives. At dinnertime the wine loosens out tongues and we ask a little more. We tell a little more. We laugh and giggle shamelessly.

Molly leaves for Ecuador in a short time; Nancy to Taos. Who knows when, where or under what circumstances we will meet up again, but we are all grateful for these special family moments in our lives.