LIVING VICARIOUSLY IN REAL TIME

A series of journeys.....

CORINNE AND MICHELLE AT THEIR AIRBNB FLAT IN AMSTERDAM

.....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes        

Occasionally, my thoughts are written down in longhand. I like to feel the slight heft of my pen and observe the swirls of black, gel ink as they are semi-absorbed into the fibers of the yellow pages of my legal pad and continue to accumulate until they exhaust the space of each blue-lined sheet. Writing in cursive script is a beautiful thing. How it lends itself to a creative and artistic inclination warms my heart and brings me pure joy! Why it is being forsaken within our school system infuriates me....but, another story for another time.

This 'old school' writing exercise began this past Friday when my youngest daughter and one of her best friends from college flew to Amsterdam to begin their sixteen-day, European adventure together. Seeing ink on paper, I believe, was my way of feeling a bit closer to them. With Amsterdam, Paris and London in sight, these two beautiful young ladies have so much to look forward to, experience and enjoy.

Oh, to be so young and carefree........but, wait a minute! Let's apply the breaks here and analyze this situation! Corinne is the Mother of three of our five grandchildren. This includes a seven-year-old and a three-year-old set of twins. Wife of Matt, our son-in-law whose love of hunting and fishing is much like an extended career, she is responsible, hard-working and a pillar of her small family nucleus. Corinne is certainly young, however, carefree may not be one of the adjectives most of us would apply to her everyday, hectic lifestyle. So, how is it that she is able to pull this one off?

KERRINGTON, LYDIA AND BRENDAN

So much thought went into their trip and, many obstacles had been thrown along the path leading to its fruition. I know it had been planned over three years ago with last summer being the original departure date. Michelle, friend and travel companion, unknowingly had other matters to contend with last year when she experienced kidney failure and spent a lengthy amount of time on a kidney donor list with surviving this ordeal as her only objective.

Corinne graciously volunteered her kidney but was denied after taking the appropriate tests to determine if she would be compatible. Would I have been so forthcoming given this situation? I wonder to this day.

Miraculously, a young gentleman, husband and father whose appropriate medical criteria matched Michelle's, heard of her 'fight for life' and came forward to volunteer his kidney. Not knowing Michelle or anyone in her family, he said it was something he felt he needed to do as long as he was healthy and capable of helping someone in dire need.


MICHELLE AND VAN GOGH

Michelle received her new kidney and it was accepted by her without major consequences and....today, she is roaming around the beautiful, canal-filled, capital city of the Netherlands, Amsterdam, with my daughter, Corinne. The attainment of something worked for, desired and planned for so strenuously, made real at last, is a major victory for them in my book. The result of which made so much sweeter by having overcome such adversity along the way.

International texting is magnificent! "Canal tour and Ann Frank House today! Freshening up for the evening. These made me think of you." Knowing my love for hydrangeas, Corinne sent a picture she'd taken of them growing within an Amsterdam cityscape. "It's true....Heineken really does taste better here in Amsterdam!" she wrote while dining on Herengracht Street. When I asked if the colorful French macaroons she sent a picture of were as delicious as they looked, she replied, "I took this picture from outside of the shop! I was afraid to go in."


MY HYDRANGEAS

I have always wanted to visit the Van Gogh Museum so, a few minutes ago, I wrote and asked if it was one of their destinations today and just received this response, "Yep, just got home from there....walked through Vondelpark back to our flat. Enjoyed it very much. Earlier we rode the tram to Central Station and walked to the Sex Museum, bought souvenirs (not from the SM), ate a nice breakfast, and walked the canals." No shocker there because the Sex Museum just happens to be on my list of places to see, too!



MACAROONS

Even though their final day in Amsterdam is coming to a close, if I know my child at all, this day will be chock-full of amazing sights, people and conversations that will highlight her memories of this beautiful city for years to come; generate stories to be passed down to her children and grandchildren. "I remember when Auntie Michelle and I rode our bikes down the cobbled streets of Amsterdam. We skirted around the canals and stopped for a breakfast of Pannenkoeken (Dutch pancakes) at a quaint little café overlooking the Amstel Canal." These memories, coupled with the many pictures she's taken and already placed on Facebook for all to enjoy, will keep this journey alive in her heart and soul forever.

Getting back to the question of how was she able to pull this thing off! One word: Determination! What is that old saying.....where there is a will, there is a way? I know it's quite a cliché, however, if you truly want to do something, you will find a way to do it, in spite of any obstacles. In Corinne's case, any obstacles would be the ones she chooses to create herself because Matt, her in-laws, Mary and David, and, of course, her father and I, were all for it! Leaving young children even for a few days can be challenging for a young mother. Leaving for sixteen days can test one's ability to cope. She knows how much knowledge and enthusiasm for travel she will be bringing back home to share with her children. This experience can't be taught in schools. Her adventurous soul will gently inject the love and respect she has for other people, places and cultures directly into the makeup of her own young children and last them a lifetime. I am proud of my daughter for making this happen!

PANNENKOEKEN

Tomorrow, fourteenth of July, is Bastille Day in France, the French national holiday which celebrates the beginning of the French Revolution. It is France's equivalent to our Fourth of July celebration. Bastille Day is a day of celebrations of French culture when many large-scale public events are held, including a military parade in Paris, as well as communal meals, dances, parties and fireworks.

COURTESY OF: My French Neighbor ~ BASTILLE DAY!

Tomorrow Corinne and Michelle arrive via train in Paris for the second chapter of their brilliant adventure. It will be as though the City of Lights will be welcoming them with open arms, and enough pomp and circumstance to rival the coronation of King Louis XVI with Marie Antoinette by his side. True.... This is probably not the best analogy for Bastille Day. But, you can be sure that cake will be eaten and that the booming, colorful fireworks display at the foot of the Eiffel Tower will draw typical huge crowds filling up the elongated and well manicured, green space of the Champ de Mars spreading out from her base to, eventually, tickle the entrance of the École Militaire (military training facility) located along its southeast side.

The ladies could not have chosen a better time to be in Paris. On this adventure I will be living vicariously through them in one of my most beloved cities in the world and, I can enjoy it in real time thanks to the convenience of international texting and social media. I am so excited about walking the boulevards of Paris tomorrow morning! Ding away little iPhone. I will be waiting for you.....!


Copyright © 2015 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved
Pictures from Amsterdam: Courtesy of Corinne Grimm