A funny thing happened to two grandmas on the way to the Berlin Wall. This sounds like it’s the first line of a joke. Well, it’s not a joke, but there were many funny times.
A Sister’s Invitation to Europe
Early last fall, my sister asked me if I would be able to travel with her to Europe. I was intrigued and asked her for more information. My sister is five years older than I am and lives in Omaha. We see each other at least once a month.
She lost her husband two years ago after a long and difficult illness. She has four grandchildren and five step-grandchildren. She has more grandma duties and a much more diverse experience than I have had with my four grandkids.
Two Grandmas on the Go
When she asked me about traveling with her, I realized she was finally ready to go to Europe with someone other than her husband. My sister has always been healthy and a great traveler, but she hadn’t done much traveling over the past five years. I was honored and thrilled at her invitation.
We giggled about the idea of two unescorted grandmas traveling such a long distance together. What could go wrong? Although I didn’t need my husband’s permission, I still asked. Before long, my sister and I were off to planning our spring trip.
Genealogy Dream Trip
Since she hadn’t traveled in years, I gave her free rein on her hopes and dreams for the trip. We met several times to discuss the details. Mostly, she wanted to be on a river boat cruise and travel in Germany down the Elbe River to Prague. It sounded like she had been thinking about this trip for some time.
She admitted she picked this destination because one set of our grandparents came from Germany and the other set originated in Czechoslovakia. My sister has done a great deal of genealogy work, and she wanted to experience those places our grandparents may have seen.
We agreed on specific dates, the river boat cruise line and additional destinations we wanted to add to our travel plans. We were set. There was only one thing left to do.
Breaking the News to the Grandkids
We needed to tell our grandkids. My sister and I had a great time sharing the questions our grandkids had for us. “Why?” was what they most frequently asked. We told them we were curious about where our grandparents came from, what the land was like and the politics of the past and present. I think it was difficult for all thirteen of them to understand because all of their grandparents lived in the same town they did. Funny thing is, now our grandkids are moving out of Nebraska.
Nancy Becker
Grandkids & Grandparents
I have four grandchildren ages 14-17. In some ways, I’m a very typical grandma, always proud of everything the kids do and wanting to help support them in whatever way I can. In other ways, I’m not very typical. My goal as a blogger is to share my thoughts and experiences that I think are funny and meaningful as I adventure through grandmahood.
