hamburgers from a roadside McDonald’ s and had them add their own cheese from a cooler to save a few cents.
A few years later, I experienced it on my own trip when my cousin and I spent most of the drive with our feet propped up on a week’ s worth of provisions. I remember traveling across the gorgeous expanse of Nova Scotia, my grandparents saying their daily rosary up front while we munched happily on snacks in the backseat. My Mémère, the same person who bought her cereal at Price Rite and obtained her GED at fifty-eight, had visited all seven continents, a feat very few can claim.
Perhaps it’ s not surprising, then, that among my cousins, nearly all of us prioritize travel in our lives. From sixmonth road trips to semesters spent abroad, to honeymoons to Machu Picchu and Greece, their legacy lives on in our wanderings. I used to think travel was something that left you untethered, weightless and unrestricted in an otherwise cluttered world. Now I realize it’ s the homecomings that give weight to the destinations, the birthdays and weddings and barbecues that create the lens through which we see the world.
I inherited a lot of things from my grandparents— a night owl’ s tendencies, a passion for deal-hunting, the placemats in the cupboard above my fridge— but this is perhaps the best: knowing that my roots, far from tying me down, have enabled me to roam far beyond where I came from.
This past fall, I was in a Greek taverna on my honeymoon when I observed to my husband that my grandparents would love the place. The food was hearty, the wine cheap and plentiful, and family photos dotted the walls. The previous day, we’ d traipsed through the Acropolis, a destination they’ d visited years before. When someone dies, people often say the world seems smaller without them, as if something has contracted. But looking through my grandparents’ albums, the world feels bigger, if only because they placed it within our reach. My Mémère and Pépère instilled a love of travel that has lasted for generations, and for that I am eternally grateful. If I can travel half as well as them, I will have lived a good life. And that is something you can only learn at home. 🆁
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