Living
so long away from Canada has afforded many unique experiences but carries the
opportunity cost of not living close to my relatives and friends back home.
Luckily, part of that downside has been allayed by my dad’s boundless curiosity
that inevitably brings him over for visits. Even though he came to Japan for a
week last year (our kickoff of the Shikoku Temple Pilgrimage), “Canada Grandpa”
decided to undertake nine days of sightseeing in India’s northern region along with
five days with the grandkids, daughter-in-law, and yours truly, in
Gurgaon.
“Go
hard or go home”
During
his group tour, Dad experienced far more of India than we have managed to do in the eight months we’ve lived here so far. Nine days visiting sights in Old and New
Delhi; Agra and the Taj Mahal; Ranthambore National Park (tiger viewing!); Jaipur
Pink City; Varanasi and the Ganges. So when he arrived back in Delhi to visit
us, I was all ears, picking up pointers and advice, and was just plain glad to
see him.
To start, Dad
accompanied Naomi to some of her charitable activities and he sampled some
local food that put a dent in our “going out together” time because it dented
his colon with Delhi belly. These things happen. I did get a day with him only for me—we went out to some sights he hadn’t seen in Delhi the first time
around, bought some gifts for the folks back home, and even had an air hockey
match at an arcade. The Rising Granddaughters™ maximized the time spent at home improving their listening skills and playing board games.
To
my surprise, Dad’s no prisoners competitive spirit extends even to the girls,
as Elena found out to her chagrin. You have to earn a win in this family.
Despite
the unlucky food choice literally putting a cramp in his style, it was a
wonderful visit just as the weather was truly warming up. The girls have been
studying hard and the effort showed as Lady E., M., and Grandpa were talking
and yukking it up throughout the visit. We capped the trip with a visit to the
Worlds of Wonder amusement park before he took the flight home.
Thanks
for the gifts, Pop. It was nice you saw the Subcontinent, but
for us, the treat was just having you visit.
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