My soon to be 23-year-old granddaughter just finished teaching English to French high-school students for the last year, and suggested the possibility of joining her on a European road trip. We’d never been through southern France, Switzerland and Northern Italy, and her grandmother and I leapt at the opportunity of a couple of weeks with a grandchild who actually wanted to be with us.
I rented the car in Paris not even asking if the vehicle was equipped with a GPS device because I don’t have one in my car and pride myself as an excellent map-reader. Turns out all new cars have them and it would have been a logistical nightmare to travel without one. The GPS a stunning tool, you input your current location, your destination, and whether you want to use the toll roads or not. The device asks what language you prefer and then “Tim” an Englishman then asks you if you want to use the toll roads are not then talks you through the trip while providing visual guidance as well.
I don’t have a GPS system in my car, and you already know that I don’t have an I Phone or handheld computer, so I couldn’t even have turned it on, much less programmed it. My granddaughter however did it in a millisecond, and it soon became clear that without the device, it would have been nearly impossible to get to the obscure destinations we sought out.
The GPS was a godsend but it was exceeded by the human GPS… my Granddaughter Providing Support, because without her we would have been toast. And it was not just the technical capabilities, she knows were slowing down and is had to deal with our growing lessening capacity is like forgetfulness and my inability to hear.
In the best of circumstances my hearing is diminished but in the midst of the allergy season and my upper respiratory stuffiness and spending 11 hours in an airplane going up and down four times I could hardly hear anything with my ears plugged. She knows are limitations, we’ve been old ever since she is no less but this was a bit more than she’d anticipated but her response was what a great situation I’m in I can’t lose she said one of you can’t hear me and the other one forgets what I’ve said, I can’t lose.
How lucky you are to call her Granddaughter…..how lucky I am to have her call me Uncle!
Just did a happy hour with Aaron…I took him on a tour of Belgium (6 small beers), and he picked out a lager to help me celebrate my German heritage.
Hope we get you down to Tucson, to repeat the experience. Enjoying your travels…please post a photo of some ice cream in Italy….possibly the best in the world
I love you
Adam
Ha. Impaired hearing and Alzheimers – viewed as karma-prevention … nice!
Like: If I am not able to hear you I can’t react to your words in any complicated karma-creating way. So, shouldn’t bad-hearing and rapid memory-loss be the prerequisite for each of the leaders of every big ass nation? «What did the other president mention last night? And where did I put this suitcase with the big red button in it? And what was the number for the security lock on it? And what again was it good for anyway?»
No hearing and no memory: Enjoying the smile on the others faces. Respectively their expressive dramatic grimace. And then, in the next moment, just being in that one …
Or: «No need to remember anything anyway. My mind is becoming more empty and free every day!» as Nanao Sakaki put it.
But we have to coordinate our daily-life! Ya. Just put your GPS into use. Type in: Grocery store; choose: Minimum walking distance. And go. Enjoy every step. And if you are in urgent need of some document of personel importance you mailed some years ago, who knows to whom, – there’s always the NSA, our much needed global documentary.
Enjoy Your journey!
Juergen from Germany, Lebensgarten Community. Met You there years ago. Three seconds. OK, sometimes memory is nice too.
Ciao! Augurando a tutti voi un meraviglioso viaggio!( Hello, wishing you all a wonderful trip!) If you get to Milan, call Eli at #393491446708, or email her at elisabethlanza@virgilio.it. Good to see everyone so in Love!
What a wonderful trip! We’ll be doing something similar with 3 weeks in Italy this summer, the last big trip together as a family before our daughter heads off to college. These are experiences, the memories of which nurture bonds for a lifetime. Travel safely. Ciao!
What a great thing your wonderful relationship with your granddaughter is, for so many reasons. Because I am childless, I will never know that wonder of grandchildren. But, I have 4 beautiful nieces, one of whom is the mother of 2 (a 5 year old & a 2 year old) & another who is expecting her first child, a daughter. These 4 girls and their 3 children are so much my daughters and grandchildren, because their loving parents shared them with me. They are blessing to their biological parents and grandparents, as well as to me!
How sweet that she wanted you to travel with her. Sounds like a wonderful trip.
I will soon be giving a Keynote speech on Cultivating Moral Potential in Our Grandchildren. When asked to do so, I said it was also the other way around, that our grandchildren can also cultivate our moral potential, as we are still growing.
Here, Carl, it seems that your granddaughter mirrored back the loving kindness and understanding she must have received from your and, like when you and your wife once might have supplemented her growing abilities, she is complemented your losing abilities.
But beautiful!
Stevie
How lucky we both are and looking forward to seeing you when we get down. :O)
Hi Juergen, and thanks for the memories, warm regards, C.
Hi Juergen and thanks for the lingering memories, warm regards, C.
Thanks Rick, never made it to Milan but always feel your open heart and gracious invitation, C.
Thanks Stevie, and feel blessed every day, Sending warm regards, C.
good trip with secured GPS device