parents, children, and traveling days
earlier this year when i began this blog, i kept it to myself the first couple of months and didn't make it public. i wasn't sure what i wanted to share or didn't want to share. finally i got up the courage to open it up to other people.
one of my first posts was about this photo. that's my dad, the handsome guy at the far right, standing with his buddies next to the temple of olympian zeus in athens. the date was 1946, just after the war and just before he met my mom in germany, where they were married. i love this photograph because it was taken of my dad, obviously, but also because it was taken in a place i love....... and for me embodies the joys of travel: greece.
at the moment this photo was taken my dad's entire adult life lay in front of him; he would get married, have four children, continue to serve in the military and move all over the world, leave the military for the private sector, eventually to run a corporation, then quit that to go to law school. all that moving around led to a thirst for travel that has yet to be satisfied. dad is ever the learner, ever the wanderer, always eager for the next experience.
on my recent trip to california i visited my dad. he had just made the decision to move to an assisted living facility and my siblings had gathered to discuss how to help him adjust to this next phase of his life. somehow we thought - now that he was confined to a wheelchair - that we might be able to help make some decisions on his behalf and more to the point, we assumed that his traveling days were over.
we couldn't have been more wrong.
my dad has always been in charge of his life and - while he appreciates our desire to help him - doesn't plan to change anytime soon: he's moved three times this year and will move again next week. so even if his traveling now is from one assisted living facility to the next, dad says he plans to stay on the road: he wants to see what's around the corner, he wants to keep opening doors to new experiences and our job is to update our address books so we know where to visit him next. he's had one hell of a life ---- and he plans to continue to live it, his way.
i just wanted to dedicate this post to all our parents, in whatever stage of life they find themselves, and wish them love, the best of health, to be surrounded by family - and if it is their wish - to keep traveling.
i love you dad.
happy holidays and bountiful wishes to all for a healthy, prosperous and joyous new year♡♡
