Linda Lahti, 12-time traveler, from Negaunee, Michigan
Since I live in Michigan, and my mom, Julia, lives in Alabama, we don’t get to see each other that often. Actually, aside from our travels together, we only get together about four times a year. That’s why our trips together are so important. Although I enjoy traveling with my husband, there’s something special about traveling with my mom (along with the fact that I only need to be in charge of packing one suitcase, rather than two, which happens when I travel with my husband).
When I was younger, my family (I have two older brothers) and I traveled around a lot since my father was in the Air Force. My mom and I have continued to share our love of exploring new places and have since traveled to Australia, Greece, the Netherlands, and on Grand Circle’s Romance of the Rhine & Mosel River Cruise.
We’ve realized that traveling together has given us wonderful opportunities to meet other mothers and daughters traveling in our groups. My mom really wanted to visit Holland to see the beautiful blooming flowers, so we traveled to the Netherlands. During that trip, we met two other mother/daughter pairs—and we all got along so well that during some of our free time, all of the mothers broke off on their own, while all of us daughters went our own way.
My favorite moment occurred during the first evening of our trip. We embarked on our journey on my mom’s birthday, but decided to keep this detail to ourselves. That’s why, when we were sitting and enjoying our post-dinner conversation in the dining room that first evening, we were incredibly surprised to see a group of servers and ship staff running around our table, carrying a cake with sparklers. The servers placed the cake in front of my mom and began to sing.
I will never forget the joy on her face and how she told me how special she felt when the Captain and all of the staff personally wished her a happy birthday. I wish I had my camera to show others her face … and although I don’t have the physical evidence, I know it’s something I’ll never forget.
My trips with my mom give us a chance to have our special one-on-one time. It’s an opportunity to have memories that no one else but we can share. It’s just me and her.