I brought my parents, who are in their 70s, to Europe for a two-week trip with my son. Although it was difficult to adjust our plans, it was the best travel decision.
Carrie Kirby
When I asked my parents if they wanted to come along on a trip to France, Denmark, and Norway with my teenage son and me, I was sort of joking. So, Mom surprised me by texting back within seconds: "YES!"The original purpose of the trip was to escort my 15-year-old to a Boy Scout Jamboree. When I found a deal on a flight to Paris, I expanded it to a two-week European tour.Of course, including my parents, who are in their mid-70s, changed our trip. I was concerned that my father's mobility challenges would dampen our travel experience. After numerous back surgeries, he deals with chronic pain and uses a rolling walker.It also made planning much more work. Soon, I felt like I was putting together two separate trips: low-walking itineraries in the middle of the day, followed by frenetic evening outings for my son and me to catch up on what we'd missed. And finding buildings with elevators in Paris, Copenhagen, and Oslo was not easy!But all the extra work was worth it when I saw how the two-week trip deepened my son's relationship with his grandparents and helped us connect to our roots.Throughout the trip, my son really stepped up to look out for his grandparents
