Reconnecting

Sasha & Shay

The last time I saw Shay was four years ago, at the funeral of her mother, my cousin Mary Lou. She was 20 or 21 then. And the time before that? Probably when she was about 7, at a family gathering of some type in California. I remember a photo of her seated at a booth in a restaurant with our kids, her long black hair and dark skin making her a younger, smaller version of her beautiful mother.

So it was quite an experience this weekend when we renewed family ties with Shay and her fiance Sasha, first at dinner at our house Saturday night and then at brunch at their place on Sunday.

She's 25 now, seven months pregnant and less than two weeks from her wedding date. In other words, she's all grown up. Like her mom, she's artistic, well-spoken and beautiful. And what a delight to know she and Sasha are just a couple miles away, having bought a home in Southeast Portland's Buckman neighborhood just last month.

Mary Lou and I were born the same week in 1952, she on Christmas Eve and me three days later. Our mothers were sisters. Mary Lou was the middle child, born between two brothers. I, too, am a  middle child, with two sisters. She and my younger sister, Cathy, became like sisters as we all grew up and they maintained a super-tight bond as adults. When Mary Lou died of cancer, I flew down from Portland for the funeral and that's the last time I was around my aunt, my cousins and their wives and kids, and Shay. I guess that's the drawback of living 600 to 700 miles from most of your relatives.

Happily, we were able to catch up some this weekend. Turns out that Shay twice has set out by herself on extended solo walking excursions from California to various points east. She lives a minimalist lifestyle and simply wanted to purge herself of material things while placing her faith in the goodwill and generosity of friends and strangers during her treks. During her second excursion, she met Sasha as she was passing through Tucson and, well, one thing led to another. They'll be married April 23 and they're due to become parents in June.

Near Bastrop, Texas, about 30 miles southeast of Austin

She's got a marvelous blog, The Adventure Hobo, that chronicles her 2009 and 2010 trips. There are oodles of photographs, nearly daily entries and a couple of blurbs where small-town newspapers published feature stories about her cashless odyssey. I'm amazed that she had no real issues, other than tired feet and honkin' blisters, but then I guess that's the lesson for the rest of us. People, especially off the beaten path, are basically good.

Shay and Sasha exude all the hope and optimism you like to see in a young couple. It will be nice to be close by as they move through life's milestones.

Photograph by Shay Emmons