OFF TO GERMANY

Only two days left before my wife and I take off for Germany and seeing our daughter again after ten months of Skype visits. We are getting more anxious to leave as each day passes.

When we tell people we are going to travel to Germany and Italy we get all sorts of advice and recommendations. The usual ones include “Have a great time!”, “Have a safe trip!”, “Oh, Italy! Enjoy the food! Enjoy the people!”, and so on.

Two comments have stood out not for their enthusiasm but for their approach. One, from a well traveled friend of mine: “Trim your toenails before you leave. Your feet will swell from lots of walking and that extra bit of toe room makes a difference.”

The second from a parent at my wife’s school after my wife sent an email to parents saying she will be gone for a while and that we will meeting our daughter who has been working in Germany for the past year. Before our daughter returns home to start her own business, we are going to go explore Italy with her. We have never taken a trip like this before, (We have been to Canada and the East coast) and can’t pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity. The parent responded to my wife with,

“Good for you. Have a wonderful trip, we have never done anything like this either, so I will hold out hope that our daughter or son create the opportunity for us one day.”

If you can’t travel when you are young, maybe your children will make it possible for you when they are young adults. Bring your own toenail clippers.