General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOne of the few perks of a job which takes me to a different country every day is.......
The good old stopped clock phenomenon, which means every now and then, I have to be in Frankfurt on a day when my younger daughter is also there, and can bring one of our granddaughters with her. It was only for about 45 minutes. Then our work schedules diverged again. But as long as we could spare the time...........
underpants
(182,788 posts)DFW
(54,369 posts)I wouldn't want to be one of the boys chasing after her. There will be some fierce competition.
ornotna
(10,800 posts)Such a little cutie.
...thanks for reminding us that there is still joy every day if we choose to see it.
DFW
(54,369 posts)Thats a very fancy cappuccino machine in the background.
DFW
(54,369 posts)Dr. Jekyll moved here after they ran him out of England, and he is rumored to store his new lab in that part of Frankfurt.
TxGuitar
(4,190 posts)KS Toronado
(17,214 posts)but it could be lemonade. So grand daughter got her good looks from DFW.
DFW
(54,369 posts)I was only called in as a stopgap provider of supplemental chromasomes.
By the way, it was a hot squeezed lemon with a LOT of honey!! That stuff is SOUR!
GeoWilliam750
(2,522 posts)You do very much appear to be the second luckiest man in the world
I am also convinced that the truest measure of success is happy grandchildren. It is only then that you know whether you have done well the only really important job in your life.
DFW
(54,369 posts)But I'd be an idiot if I started complaining. There is a lot of misery out there that passes us by.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,599 posts)I'm glad you had a moment of respite to see your daughter and granddaughter!
DFW
(54,369 posts)This week's schedule allowed me to take this brief time out, so I did.
Yesterday, I was in Switzerland--Geneva and Zürich, tomorrow in Paris, the day after in Brussels, Friday in the Netherlands, and then Monday in Spain. There is no rest for the weary, so the weary must steal it where and when we can.
Nothing like the trek we have planned for a week from Friday (look up the distance from Frankfurt am Main to Waikoloa), but at least then we'll all be together.
TNNurse
(6,926 posts)Ptah
(33,027 posts)Response to Ptah (Reply #8)
Chin music This message was self-deleted by its author.
DFW
(54,369 posts)I have to work at being a master thief in that regard. I envy those that do not.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Ours are sadly all too big to run and jump on us when we arrive. Actually, it'd put us in the hospital now, but I really miss when they were that size.
Tree Lady
(11,457 posts)She really loves her grandpa.
DFW
(54,369 posts)There's no accounting for taste..........
Response to DFW (Original post)
Chin music This message was self-deleted by its author.
DFW
(54,369 posts)You don't want to be on the same continent with her.
Response to DFW (Reply #17)
Chin music This message was self-deleted by its author.
DFW
(54,369 posts)Ptah gets credit for the other one.
Lonestarblue
(9,981 posts)DFW
(54,369 posts)On April 10th, my wife and I celebrate our 40th anniversary. We thought we'd try to get the family together for the occasion. My younger daughter--the one who took this picture--thought she'd pick out a place. We said, sure, go ahead. So, she did--her old high school hangout, which happens to be to Kona side of the Big Island of Hawa'i. This is not a budget undertaking, as you might imagine, so I started to look for affordable flights. She said, well, it would be nicer if my wife and I flew the whole way with them from Frankfurt instead of flying from Düsseldorf and Paris, as we usually do. I explained to her that what she was proposing for us was 3000 more expensive. But she doesn't take "no" for an answer, and just went ahead and bought us the tickets (she makes many multiples of what I do), and called it an anniversary present.
When she was 2 years old, a neighbor once called her "Madame 10,000 volts." She hasn't changed much.
SleeplessinSoCal
(9,112 posts)I imagine this whole DST change over means nothing to you. You change time zones more than a new mom changes diapers.
Very exciting anniversary for the whole family. I recall being flown from London back to Los Angeles for my grandparents 40th anniversary when i was studying there for 3 years. So i can relate in some way.
Enjoy your family as you travel across the world!
DFW
(54,369 posts)If I recall correctly, Hawai'i doesn't go on DST, but when you're traveling halfway across the world in one day, I don't think it much matters if we cross eleven time zones or twelve. We'll be wrecks when we get there, no matter WHAT time it is!
Evolve Dammit
(16,725 posts)Yorkie Mom
(16,420 posts)DFW
(54,369 posts)Happy is the word for it, alright!
She is in that intermediate phase where she understands what I say to her in English, but she still answers in German, her preferred language. Our daughters didn't start responding in English until they were 5 or so.
lpbk2713
(42,757 posts)Lucky you.
DFW
(54,369 posts)So she had quite a head start:
Lucky her!
secondwind
(16,903 posts)Lemon Lyman
(1,349 posts)Very cool. I remember you posting pics of your family (2 daughters?), and that your whole family were lookers!
What's the white box'y thing by the window? An air purifier?
DFW
(54,369 posts)These days, for all I know, it's a polonium remover!
With Putin still skulking about, that's something that should be in every home in Europe!
secondwind
(16,903 posts)I miss those days........
DFW
(54,369 posts)calimary
(81,222 posts)pandr32
(11,581 posts)I envy you. My kids have now all grown and none seem to want their own families.
Traveling so much must be challenging during this pandemic. You look well, and so does that beautiful girl!
Also, I hope your upcoming anniversary is a lot of fun here on the Big Island of Hawaii.
DFW
(54,369 posts)Our younger daughter went to school there--it was up in Waimea--for two years, so as you can imagine, it's not exactly unknown territory for us. When we were together in Frankfurt today, my daughter and I were discussing which of her classmates we were going to see, how to drive to where we are staying (up past Hapuna, just before Kawai'i Hae), down to her former roomie's house in South Kona, etc etc. Nineteen years of absence for me (nine for her), and here we were yakking about it again, as if we passed through there every second weekend. What will really be weird for me will be to see all these schoolmates of hers that I knew, all 18 year old kids at the time, now all approaching 40.
This was NOT your typical high school graduation!
pandr32
(11,581 posts)I love seeing my kids' former classmates. Well maybe except for one. He found the wrong path.
Wishing you much Aloha
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)And vice versa, I'm sure.
ProfessorGAC
(65,010 posts)And, your granddaughter.
80-90% of my trips were anything but pleasure.
If it was me coming (as opposed to one of my staff) it meant the problem was BIG!
I was as welcome a sight as Darth Vader.
DFW
(54,369 posts)Although after weeks of our three grandchildren, the State of Hawai'i may declare the date of our departure a State Holiday from here on in. If the Mayors of Kona and Waikoloa come to see us off, and start repeating "mahalo" to the pilot of the plane taking us away, we'll know for sure.
ProfessorGAC
(65,010 posts)Have a good time in Hawaii!
róisín_dubh
(11,791 posts)I miss my grandpa every day. What I wouldn't give to sit and have a coffee with him (though he'd lecture me about having not visited Italy yet...)
DFW
(54,369 posts)He lived to be 102, and has his wits about him to the end. At age 99, he sent out a Christmas card with a photo of himself, looking very much his age, with the caption: "Compliments of the Seasoned." He wouldn't lecture me about anything other than how beautiful he thought his great-grandkids were, and he never got an argument from us of that (or any other) subject.
niyad
(113,278 posts)It truly gladdens the spirits.
Safe travels to you all.
DFW
(54,369 posts)We have many miles to go before we sleep, that's for sure.
Harker
(14,015 posts)Your priorities are impeccable.
DFW
(54,369 posts)It just ain't worth it if all you see is a blur of the world flying by.
If there's any blurring in my life, it's strictly on my terms.
alwaysinasnit
(5,066 posts)AnotherMother4Peace
(4,243 posts)Thank you for sharing and giving me a smile.
trof
(54,256 posts)And I mean that as a compliment.
What's you grandpa name?
I'm 'Baba'.
DFW
(54,369 posts)Last edited Wed Mar 30, 2022, 12:36 PM - Edit history (1)
But time moved on, and central casting forgot to call me!
PS--I'm "Opa" by the way.
11 Bravo
(23,926 posts)What a little doll. You're indeed a lucky man, DFW.
Liberal In Texas
(13,548 posts)It's nice that you are able to do this. Worth more than all the gold in the world.
DFW
(54,369 posts)Sogo
(4,986 posts)stollen
(419 posts)Sind Ihre Enkel mehrsprachig? Fließendes Deutsch zum Beispiel?
DFW
(54,369 posts)Der Kleine in New York bekommt Russisch dazu.
Demovictory9
(32,453 posts)Meowmee
(5,164 posts)kentuck
(111,085 posts)It is admirable what you are doing, DFW.
DFW
(54,369 posts)Some would no doubt prefer the view that a well-traveled man is a pompous know-it all
I look at my family, consider the math genius, the hotshot legal mind, the PhD in Engineering, the tireless social worker, the adventurer who is sent on development aid trips to Muslim areas of sub-Saharan Africa, none of whom are me, and say, damn, I'm pretty far down the totem pole. But you know what? There's no requirement that everyone has to be top dog, and I can live with that just fine.