Well, I finally did it last night. After keeping my plan under wraps for several months (with great difficulty, I might add), I invited 3 of my grandkids to Paris for a week, sometime in 2025. They will pay their own airfare, and I will contribute a 3 bedroom apartment and tickets to museums, etc. We’ll figure out meals, and incidental expenses in the coming months.
I had been worried about my timing as Katie was having issues with work and had been under a lot of stress for longer than was healthy. I felt that adding a trip to an already burgeoning work schedule would be too much for her. Serendipitously, she resigned her position a few days ago, taking bad timing as an issue off the table.
I may have mentioned in a text that I had some good news to share but didn’t think it would set off alarm bells. Almost from the moment they walked in the door, they were VERY serious and very curious. They speculated and took bets on what it could be. None of them were even close, their very improbable ideas ranged from my having a boyfriend(!) and about to get married to my being a lesbian(!) HA. I thought that Katie might guess since she printed the photos I used to make the card to announce the news. But no. So there were exclamations of genuine surprise, disbelief and, eventually, a sweet realization. It was priceless and too funny.
What led up to all this started last summer. After a family trip to Jekyll Island, I decided it was finally time to sell the Sprinter. As much as I loved it and wanted to keep it, it was costing me in storage and insurance. Worse, I knew that I would never travel in it alone. I enlisted what I thought would be expert professional advice from the folks at the Mercedes Benz dealership, AutoNation (do NOT get me started on them) and an online website that sold exclusively RVs. In the end, it was all a waste of time, money and energy. And a two and half month nightmare that was very lonely, emotionally draining and exhausting. Plus I almost got scammed. Once again, my dear friend, Tom, came to the rescue. He suggested selling the van on consignment and found an outfit that, true to their word, sold it to a retired couple who, like C and I, wanted to travel across the US. It was a bittersweet moment, I had a really hard time talking about it for weeks afterwards. A few days after I deposited the check, I left for Europe.
The idea for the trip with the kids was born out of my desire to keep traveling after such a wildly successful five weeks in Europe. But with whom? I had already asked everyone I knew if they would be willing to travel together. I heard every excuse imaginable and, yeah, I can travel alone but I would rather be with someone who shares a love of traveling. One of the kids commented after an early blog entry that they were so jealous. I knew in that moment who I was going to ask and, more importantly, how I was going to use the money from the sale of the van. It would be the beginning of a travel fund to be shared with three of my favorite people on earth. Best of all, I know Charlie would approve.
And oh, Ashley, if you are reading this, you and the girls will have equal time in the city of your choice down the road.
The kids right before I told them.
And after.