Grandad's holiday

Tomorrow we head for Corfu. All 11 of us. It has seemed like a military operation to organise this even more so at the last minute. I think I've got all bases covered but you never know.

WH has finally finished work and has started the wind-down, chill out phase. His grin is getting bigger and he can't wait to show the Grandkids all the things he loves about being abroad. So far it looks like our hunch paid off, it WILL be the best way to celebrate his milestone birthday. He doesn't like receiving presents, he doesn't do parties with their false gaiety and little awkwardnesses, he has no need of the usual trappings of Grandfather status, over-priced trinkets, mementos and and men's gifts. He's a giver not a receiver. A shared experience is what he would have chosen for himself.

To mark this special trip Middle Daughter and I spent a whole day designing and printing t-shirts for the whole party. A bit silly possibly, but we wanted the 4 smallest ones to have a tangible reminder of this week. The daughters themselves went to Florida when they were similar ages and all 3 still have all their keepsakes, aged Disney t-shirts and childish 'souvenirs'. They can still tell you what they did from day to day on that long 6 week adventure, about the crabs that ran over their feet in the dark, the beach picnics, the English restaurant with Roast beef and having Strawberries for breakfast. Although I wasn't part of their lives then, that came just a year later, I feel like I was there. I've seen the videos, the photographs and been proudly shown all the treasures, again and again and again.

Hopefully this next 7 days will make some new memories to treasure and some which the next generation will remember with such excitement. So if you're off to Corfu this next week and you see a shortish chap wearing zany outfits and a huge grin with 4 little kids hanging on his every word, you'll know, Grandad is finally on his 'special' holiday.