Dad has been all over the world on his media trips. He's been to every continent (other than Antarctica) and I'm sure he lost count long ago of the amount of countries he's visited. It's got to be over 40. His love for travel is contagious. I've often thought about quitting my job to go work for an airline… just for the travel benefits.
There's an old saying "While the cat's away, the mice will play." I have many memories of things that happened while mom and dad were out of town. Typically, Neil and Ruth Ann would get their parents or one of their married siblings to come over to the house and watch us while they were gone. Then the fun began. Here are a few memories that happened while the cats were away:
1. Several things from the mother never knew post happened while Mom and Dad were out of town. Uncle Bob was babysitting when I tried to throw our cat Boots out the window, and when John and I wore baby Bob's diapers.
2. Tom's birthdays. Though I'm not familiar with the statistics, I seem to recall that mom and dad missed the majority of Tom's birthdays, leaving him with an irreversible martyr complex.
3. The 3 car pileup. While Dan and Jen watched us during one trip, Dan crashed our 15 passenger van into a small pickup truck, which got sandwiched into the SUV in front of it. Luckily no one was hurt, but I flew about 6 feet forward and hit my hands on the windshield.
4. I was particularly bossy when mom and dad were out of town, taking it upon myself to rule in self-righteous splendor. Once, when the older kids were going to watch a PG-13 movie I told the younger boys they had to leave because the movie wasn't appropriate for them. Uncle Dan told me "If something is not appropriate for them, it's probably not appropriate for you." Well played Dan.
Our favorite part of our parents' trips was the day they came home. They would lay out their suitcases on the floor and pull out trinkets and goodies they had brought home for each of us. Sometimes it was something small like a keychain or seashells, but almost always involved some local treat. My all-time favorite prize they brought home was from their visit to Hong Kong. They brought home matching karate pajamas for me, Jim and John.
Thanks mom and dad, for thinking of us on your trips and making us feel especially loved when you got home. Thank you for sharing your love of travel. And thanks most of all for sometimes taking us with you.
