The Ties That Bind

I can't pretend that I'm not extraordinarily close to my external family members. The closest I can come to saying that is in regards to my eccentric uncle in New Mexico. For some reason, I feel closest to him. Maybe it's because he, like me, moved far away from his immediate family to create his own life, and I'm essentially following suit. Aunts and Uncles from both sides of my family almost always seem like strangers to me. Every time I see them, be it holidays or funerals, I learn who they are all over again. I ask my parents "now, which one of your sisters/brother is the crazy one?" "Who got divorced/remarried/arrested recently?" It drives me insane. How is it that people have the capability to be so close to their cousins? Majority of the people I work with are always talking about how they hang out with their cousins...raise their cousins kids....celebrate things with cousins... I don't get it. I grew up seeing my external family maaaaybe twice a year. 3 times if there was a funeral. Sick, yes, but that's how we rolled. I'm not close to them. I'm not close to majority of my family really, save for the 4 Radford I share DNA with..How do you do it? I don't even have anyone's number. Family? Define it. Is it genetic or social? Cheers, Ennui