One of the forms easels,
canvas,
paints,
and brushes will take with
my children
is the gift of travel. To this end, as a celebration of her
graduation from high school,
my daughter Alexandra
and I set out from
Napa Valley
California on a journey with stops in New York New York USA,
London
England, Cape Town
South Africa,
Paris France, Milan Italy, Venice Italy, Rome Italy, Chicago
Illinois USA, before returning to the bucolic calm of rows and rows
of the vineyards pregnant with grapes in the
wine country.
This essay isn't intended as a travel log. I'm not going to recount
our exact itinerary and day to day activities. I'm not going to ask
you to click your way through our
holiday
photographs. The geographical vistas, awesome as they are, are only
of secondary importance. Everyone should see and do what we saw and
did, and that's it on the geography.
The essential experiential vista which broke open for
Alexandra
was
leadership.
I wanted her to eclipse me, Mr Big Deal World Traveler,
completely. The metro tubes of Paris' subway system
and sometimes two foot wide passages between Venice's ancient
brick
buildings require intense, careful navigation, even with maps.
Alexandra
took one look at a Paris metro map, and from then on barely glanced
at it again. She was awesome. She has a natural, certain (and by
certain I mean unwaveringly accurate)
instinct for direction. It was a total thrill for me,
a seasoned traveler, to not have to pay any attention at all to
directions on the Paris metro and instead allow
my daughter
to lead me. Venice's passages are even harder to negotiate. Even
with a map, you're guaranteed to get lost. Again,
Alexandra
took one look at the intricate map of Venice's passages, alleyways,
canals, and foot bridges, put it away in her purse, and said "Come
on, Dad: this way!" and never once wavered off course.
My relationship with her completely transformed by allowing her to
take the lead ... AND ... by knowing with absolute
certainty she'd get us where we were going faster and more directly
than any local tour guide.
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