Pazzo.3

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Our inaugural grand tour would encompass a scenic loop by car through Switzerland, Italy, and France, a mere 2,000 miles, or six string beans. This way we would please everyone and be so exhausted at the end that the thought of doing this a second time would completely vanish from our collective noodle heads. All heads turned to me, and in unison, said “So, when do we go?”

I paused because I thought it would be cool to travel to new places, visit world renowned museums, cathedrals, and historic sites and see them through the eyes of our parents. Can you imagine exploring the inner streets of old cities discussing the window patterns and architectural detail of a French neighborhood with your mother? Or sampling the local cuisine at an outdoor cafe in Rome with your mother-in-law? Or taking a gondola ride to the base of the Matterhorn with your father-in-law? Well, neither did I, until I realized that the excitement that was already expressed in their eyes and the gaiety in their voices meant that this could be a very energizing experience for our parents, at a time in their lives when they were contemplating what their next chapter was going to be. We were ready to help them write it in a foreign language.

Without sounding too maudlin, it can be a very rewarding feeling to be able to give a parent the gift of a chance to do something that gives them a spark in life, something to look forward to, and the opportunity to do something that they would not have been able to do otherwise on their own. In addition to sharing new adventures with each other, traveling with parents can be a bonding experience that is enjoyed and cherished forever. We love our parents dearly, but could we really survive traveling with them in a foreign land, with foreign languages, foreign bathrooms and foreign currencies? Maybe we were pazzo. My siblings thought so.

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