My mum lost both her parents in the last few years and a small spark left her usually glowing spirit. She's been talking about Paris for years and for some reason has never been. When she was younger, she and my grandfather built an Eiffel Tower out of plywood for a class project. She told me this story shortly after my grandfather died and I knew we had to find the time.
And we did in the Winter of 2015.
One evening I could hear the sadness in her voice and I immediately reached out to our travel agent to look for flights and book the trip. We boarded a plane 5 weeks later and I knew when we landed in Paris, the trip was what we both needed desperately. I will never forget how I could feel her entire spirit shift and her eyes light up the first time she saw the beautiful Iron Lady. Over the course of that week EVERY time she spotted the Eiffel Tower, I was able to see a glimpse of who she probably was as a teenager working with her father on that class project.
Paris will forever hold a place in my heart, because her lights found a way to bring a twinkle back to my mum.
dyism:
Sometimes the best gift to a person is finding a way that allows them to smile again.
