My Original Travel Goal and Inspiration...

Every summer (until 2007), I would go to my grandparents' place at least one time.  One of the things I would remember was their refrigerator door.  It was adorned with various magnets--mostly in the shapes of U.S. states.  As soon as I learned the map of the U.S., I would move the various magnets into their appropriate position.  I would find that most of the states could easily fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, but others, say Rhode Island, turned out to be bigger than Indiana, creating all kinds of logistical issues.  Then there was the location of Hawaii.  The door was wide enough for the Lower 48, which pretty much required for Hawaii to be somewhere on their dishwasher about 15 feet away (since that was the closest metallic surface available in the kitchen).  I'm fairly certain that after I left, my grandparents would ask each other, "What happened to Hawaii?"  But I digress...

One of the things that made this magnet map special was that they bought each magnet as they visited each state!  However, the magnet map was not the main reason for continuing to visit them into my early 30's...  They themselves were the reason!

Looking back on my relationship with them, I never felt like I was spoiled by them nor bribed for their affection.  They were truly interested in my sister, my six cousins, and myself.  Grandma and Grandpa wanted to know we were happy with how our lives were turning out to be.  They would become concerned if something wasn't right--whether it was my early struggles after graduating college or my early frustrations of recovering after knee surgery.

Then there were the times they drove countless hours to celebrate achievements in my life.  When I became the first in the family to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, they were there (along with my great-grandmother).  When I graduated high school and college, they were there.  When I bought my first house, they made sure to come see it.  When they heard about Heather and I getting engaged, we got their congratulatory phone call via speakerphone...within an hour of calling my parents (who in turn notified them)!

So, feeling that I mattered so much to them, I became inspired to do something as I started to see more and more of the U.S.  I wanted to follow in their footsteps and visit all 50 states!  I was able to see 38 of them before they both passed away in 2008.  I even made a small binder for Grandpa's 90th birthday (which was five years ago today) that would show 8x10 pictures from our travels on one side and a short story in 24 point Arial on the other.  By this point, sadly, Grandpa was seriously suffering from Alzheimers, so I felt the need to do my part to keep his memory strong.

Sadly, Grandma and Grandpa both passed away in 2008 after living very full lives.  They had four children (all girls), eight grandchildren (5 boys, 3 girls), five great grandchildren (3 boys, 2 girls), a step great grandson, and another great granddaughter on the way at the time they each passed away.  Since then, there have been five more great grandchildren (2 boy, 3 girls) with the most recent one being a boy born this morning.

I'm certain that someone in this group of great grandchildren in addition to Lily (my eight-month-old daughter) will become inspired--maybe by us--to carry Grandma and Grandpa's travelling "torch!"  (metaphorically writing, of course)

Oh, I don't know about the state-shaped magnets.  So, if you happen to come across a group, would you kindly rearrange it for me?  I'm fairly certain my grandparents would really appreciate it.


In Memory:  Grandma (1919 - 2008) and Grandpa (1917 - 2008).  Miss you both.