Written 8/23/2016 as we were making plans to retire by 2018:
I always tell my mom that I am living vicariously through her. She has always been the type of person that is not afraid to travel places. She doesn't even mind getting lost and says those have been her best adventures. My father was the same way and I never really appreciated this about them more than now.
They traveled by ship to Africa when I was only 6 weeks old in 1958. Who does that with a new born? Now that I have had my own children I often think how crazy that would be to do now much less in the 50's. When I became a grandmother I was horrified at how my grandparents must have felt at them leaving with their grandchild. Talk about anxiety!I have to admit that at my age I more than admire both my parents for their adventuresome spirit. My brother inherited those genes and loves to travel too. I do enjoy discovering new places more than most but not at the level my parents did. I think because I grew up that way for the first decade of my life I now feel the urge to follow in their footsteps instead of living vicariously through their memories.
Lavinia Spalding, 43, writing and teacher in San Francisco said it best: Don't think about it too much. Don't make pro and con list. Pro and con list are nothing but trouble. If you think about it too much, you'll just end up staying home and then someday you'll be telling your grandchildren, "I always wanted to do that" instead of showing them photos of the trips you took and giving them advice on where to go. Over the years, family and friends have said to me, "I'm living vicariously through you." Don't ever live vicariously. This is your life. Live! ....quoted from the book Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
I took this picture at Bethesda by the Sea garden.
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