“Dad, can I buy something to take home?” “Sure, I love to buy souvenirs, but you can only buy something made here.” “Hmmmmmm. Oh, Dad look! That ice cream is made here!” I’ve been told that he’s too young to remember this trip. Or that he can do cannon balls in his own pool. True, there are many experiences that he won’t probably remember. Not understanding the language, the warmth of the Mediterranean, eating octopus, riding a donkey to get somewhere, taking a ferry instead of an airplane, realizing that God has different names depending upon where you go, black sand is really, really, hot etc. I was confounded by this thought until a good friend looked at him today and said, “He’s an adventurer John. Just like you.” Then all the flights, boats, hotels, trips, Gummy Bear bribes, 8 million questions asked and answered, nuclear melt downs, and fart jokes made sense. The memories may fade, the language might not stick, he may even never eat octopus ever again…. but the sense of adventure will remain with him for the rest of his life. And yes, of course he got the ice cream.
