i confess

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been nearly two decades since my last confession. Covering all that ground could really take a while so I'll just stick to the highlights.

I totally corrupted my little brother. I taught him curse words when he was a toddler, got him stoned before he turned 12, convinced him to bite a soap fish in a store for a dollar (which he promptly had to use to buy a soda to wash the taste town), and I once recruited him to help me steal a McDonald's Teenie Beanie Baby from a thrift store.

I do not think there are enough Hail Marys in the world to save me.

I also totally plan to lie about my weight when I renew my driver's license and passport.

If you've got something you want to get off your chest, but you don't want us to know which cousin you are, feel free to log in to our fancy new anonymous gmail account. It's "donttellmargaret@gmail.com" (of course) and I'll send you the password if you email me.

Too tired to think of a good title...

Hey cousins!

Well it's 5AM and I have been at work for 11 hours... finishing up 5 of 6 work nights in a row.. my shift, when I return tonight, will be my last one for 19 whole days! It's vacation time at last... It's been a relatively slow night so I just checked my email and saw what my sis has been up to.. I really hope you East coast cousins participate! I feel detached from everyone these days and would love to read about any cool or mundane stuff that is going on in your lives.. I unfortunately have few memories of the "Don't Tell Margaret Night" in that lovely Center City Philly Holiday Inn- I believe I missed out since I retired early because I wasn't in the mood for drinking..Oh well.

I think that trip was the last time I was out East..And it was the same visit where my sister accused me (and still does) of dragging her on a 'Death March'. I remember it was really hot and we walked down to South Street for some Philly cheesesteaks. There was supposed to be a big purple tourist bus that was free (or cheap) that I planned on taking back to our hotel.. but we never saw it.. even though I thought it ran 7 days a week ..Erik had Grace on his back for the trek and wasn't happy about it. They still don't believe that I didn't intend for us to walk so far.. but I never saw a cab and that purple bus was nowhere to be found. I also remember visiting the Liberty Bell and I have a picture of Cousin Bob sharing gelato with Grace. Sadly, I can't remember if these memories are from the same day or not! (Nanny's alzheimers or sleep deprivation?... time will tell)

Next week Grace and I will be touching down again in the City of Brotherly Love...(can't wait to eat an authentic Philadelphia pretzel!).. I am excited that we will get to see Margaret again. I was worried her 90th Bday would be the last time- and she proved me wrong. I am happy she will get to know Grace as a kid instead of a baby. Because Grace is a pretty cool kid..

Our time in PA will be limited however as we are jetting off to visit NYC and then London! You may think "wow, that must be nice" but I have only ever stayed overnight in NYC once when I was a teen and stayed in the hotel where Sid Vicious killed his girlfriend Nancy. I remember the cockroaches all over the walls scurry when the lights were turned on. This time I am staying 4 nights in a decent (hopefully) apartment on the Upper East Side near Central Park and will be spending quality time with my oldest, dearest friend Sheila (who happens to also be Cousin Bob's sweetie).. And I haven't been to London in 19 years.. The London part of this trip came recently when I decided it would be worth it to see a favorite musician perform there.. The timing was right- I am already on vacation and halfway to London.. Of course the musician (Kimya Dawson) lives in Olympia, Wa (yes, a mere 40 min away) but to me this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. So we are going to spend 4 nights in London and go to the London Zoo, the London Eye, go on a double decker bus tour, check out the Camden Markets and see Kimya Dawson perform. Needless to say, I am EXCITED!!!

Well my replacement will be here in minutes so I better sign off....

xoxo
Cousin Suz

better late than never?

Greetings, cousins.

I'm sure you all recall our beloved matriarch's 90th birthday party? But only the precious few who made it to the after party will recognize this blog's name. For it was there, in the Philadelphia Holiday Inn, that the idea for Don't Tell Margaret was born.

At its inception, Don't Tell Margaret was meant to be an elaborate private website with various password protections (to keep the parents out) and festive graphics (such as the widget that would count down the number of days of living in sin Mary Beth had left before her wedding). It was meant to be a clearinghouse for all sorts of cousinly information - complete with family tree, favorite quotes, and a private confessional. What fun is it, after all, to be part of such an entertaining extended family if you don't have a forum for sharing your secrets?

Though my enthusiasm for the idea never faded (I even bought the domain name right away), as it turns out I don't actually know how to build a website, at least not one worthy of not telling Margaret about... Never one to be deterred by a lack of talent, I held on to my dream. In fact, I still have the original plans - though some are simply illegible thanks to all the wine we were drinking - and thus, when I stumbled across the team blog feature this evening (while actively avoiding my law school applications) I said to myself, "aha," or, more in tune with that fateful evening, "aarrrgggghh!"

I do hope you'll join me in posting here. All matter of content is more than welcome. As your far off California cousin, I feel particularly removed from your everyday affairs...

Seems like, as the administrator, I've got to send you an invite to contribute. I have a handful of cousinly addresses (or "numbers" as my mom has been known to call them), leaving me, oh, only about 39 cousins shy. So spread the word (email me at justjenni@gmail.com to get listed) and get to posting.

Perhaps Kevin will get us started with a photo of the other great idea spawned at the after party - the Margaret tattoo? After all, he's got law school application essays to avoid too.