The way things turn out to be

8 cousins, from 5 families.

2 grew up with parents who struggled with mental illness.

5 grew up to become parents themselves.

There are 2 stay-at-home moms, a lawyer, an English professor, a building contractor, a realtor, a physiotherapist, an administrator, a daycare provider, an office manager.

5 inherited the mental illness genes.

2 grew up urban, 6 rural.

As adults, 4 were rural, 4 urban.

One has lost both parents, another a mother.

One has died.

This is the way things turned out.