One of the few perks of a job which takes me to a different country every day is.......

[DFW]

The good old stopped clock phenomenon, which means every now and then, I have to be in Frankfurt on a day when my younger daughter is also there, and can bring one of our granddaughters with her. It was only for about 45 minutes. Then our work schedules diverged again. But as long as we could spare the time...........

[underpants]

1. Nice ❗️

[DFW]

2. Give her about 15 years or less

I wouldn't want to be one of the boys chasing after her. There will be some fierce competition.

[ornotna]

3. You're a lucky man DFW

Such a little cutie.

[orwell]

4. So cute...

...thanks for reminding us that there is still joy every day if we choose to see it.

[DFW]

41. And if fate ALLOWS us to see it! n/t

[rso]

5. Dfw

That’s a very fancy cappuccino machine in the background.

[DFW]

7. I'm not sure if that's what that is

Dr. Jekyll moved here after they ran him out of England, and he is rumored to store his new lab in that part of Frankfurt.

[TxGuitar]

10. I was thinking it looked like some sort of still!

[KS Toronado]

21. Does appear to be a beer sitting next to it

but it could be lemonade. So grand daughter got her good looks from DFW.

[DFW]

42. No, from Mrs. DFW, not from me!

I was only called in as a stopgap provider of supplemental chromasomes.

By the way, it was a hot squeezed lemon with a LOT of honey!! That stuff is SOUR!

[GeoWilliam750]

55. I reiterate that although close

You do very much appear to be the second luckiest man in the world

I am also convinced that the truest measure of success is happy grandchildren. It is only then that you know whether you have done well the only really important job in your life.

[DFW]

71. If I were anywhere near second luckiest, I might get a little more rest than I do these days

But I'd be an idiot if I started complaining. There is a lot of misery out there that passes us by.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. Ah, how beautiful your granddaughter is, my dear DFW! I can see your smile from here.

I'm glad you had a moment of respite to see your daughter and granddaughter!

[DFW]

14. Ah, my dear Peggy, you have to grab these moments while you can

This week's schedule allowed me to take this brief time out, so I did.

Yesterday, I was in Switzerland--Geneva and Zürich, tomorrow in Paris, the day after in Brussels, Friday in the Netherlands, and then Monday in Spain. There is no rest for the weary, so the weary must steal it where and when we can.

Nothing like the trek we have planned for a week from Friday (look up the distance from Frankfurt am Main to Waikoloa), but at least then we'll all be together.

[TNNurse]

33. Her smile is as big as yours. It is joy for her as well.

[Ptah]

8. Grandkids are the best!

[DFW]

15. IF you can steal the time!!

I have to work at being a master thief in that regard. I envy those that do not.

[Hortensis]

39. :) And boy doesn't your picture say it! He's beautiful.

Ours are sadly all too big to run and jump on us when we arrive. Actually, it'd put us in the hospital now, but I really miss when they were that size.

[Tree Lady]

9. What a beautiful photo

She really loves her grandpa.

[DFW]

18. Yes, I don't get it

There's no accounting for taste..........

[DFW]

17. Believe me, when she DOESN'T get what she wants

You don't want to be on the same continent with her.

[DFW]

20. I'm only guilty of posting the one in the OP

Ptah gets credit for the other one.

[Lonestarblue]

13. How sweet. Lovely child, and so good you get to see her and your daughter now and then.

[DFW]

16. It's rare enough, although.........

On April 10th, my wife and I celebrate our 40th anniversary. We thought we'd try to get the family together for the occasion. My younger daughter--the one who took this picture--thought she'd pick out a place. We said, sure, go ahead. So, she did--her old high school hangout, which happens to be to Kona side of the Big Island of Hawa'i. This is not a budget undertaking, as you might imagine, so I started to look for affordable flights. She said, well, it would be nicer if my wife and I flew the whole way with them from Frankfurt instead of flying from Düsseldorf and Paris, as we usually do. I explained to her that what she was proposing for us was €3000 more expensive. But she doesn't take "no" for an answer, and just went ahead and bought us the tickets (she makes many multiples of what I do), and called it an anniversary present.

When she was 2 years old, a neighbor once called her "Madame 10,000 volts." She hasn't changed much.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

28. What a gift!

I imagine this whole DST change over means nothing to you. You change time zones more than a new mom changes diapers.

Very exciting anniversary for the whole family. I recall being flown from London back to Los Angeles for my grandparents 40th anniversary when i was studying there for 3 years. So i can relate in some way.

Enjoy your family as you travel across the world!

[DFW]

31. Thanks, we'll try!!

If I recall correctly, Hawai'i doesn't go on DST, but when you're traveling halfway across the world in one day, I don't think it much matters if we cross eleven time zones or twelve. We'll be wrecks when we get there, no matter WHAT time it is!

[Evolve Dammit]

66. What a great gift for a memorable, milestone event! Great nickname too. Thanks for sharing

[Yorkie Mom]

22. That's a wonderful photo! You both look so happy.

[DFW]

23. I get a 45 minute break from work. She gets to order what she wants.

Happy is the word for it, alright!

She is in that intermediate phase where she understands what I say to her in English, but she still answers in German, her preferred language. Our daughters didn't start responding in English until they were 5 or so.

[lpbk2713]

24. She's gorgeous.

Lucky you.

[DFW]

27. She inherited a generous dose of my wife's genes.

So she had quite a head start:


Lucky her!

[secondwind]

25. What a lovely photo!

[Lemon Lyman]

26. Good For You DFW!

Very cool. I remember you posting pics of your family (2 daughters?), and that your whole family were lookers!

What's the white box'y thing by the window? An air purifier?

[DFW]

29. No idea!

These days, for all I know, it's a polonium remover!

[Lemon Lyman]

35. Ha!

With Putin still skulking about, that's something that should be in every home in Europe!

[secondwind]

30. Oh how I miss those times!!! My granddaughter graduates from Hobart in a couple of months!

I miss those days........

[DFW]

34. In ten years, you can start again as great grandparents!

[calimary]

32. Little ray of sunshine!

[pandr32]

36. Such a wonderful picture that captures your connection

I envy you. My kids have now all grown and none seem to want their own families.
Traveling so much must be challenging during this pandemic. You look well, and so does that beautiful girl!
Also, I hope your upcoming anniversary is a lot of fun here on the Big Island of Hawaii.

[DFW]

43. Thanks! We hope so, too.

Our younger daughter went to school there--it was up in Waimea--for two years, so as you can imagine, it's not exactly unknown territory for us. When we were together in Frankfurt today, my daughter and I were discussing which of her classmates we were going to see, how to drive to where we are staying (up past Hapuna, just before Kawai'i Hae), down to her former roomie's house in South Kona, etc etc. Nineteen years of absence for me (nine for her), and here we were yakking about it again, as if we passed through there every second weekend. What will really be weird for me will be to see all these schoolmates of hers that I knew, all 18 year old kids at the time, now all approaching 40.

This was NOT your typical high school graduation!

[pandr32]

54. Sounds like you will have a wonderful time.

I love seeing my kids' former classmates. Well maybe except for one. He found the wrong path.
Wishing you much Aloha

[DFW]

63. Mahalo! n/t

[Hortensis]

37. What a bright, sweet gift in your lives, DFW.

And vice versa, I'm sure.

[ProfessorGAC]

38. Good For You!

And, your granddaughter.
80-90% of my trips were anything but pleasure.
If it was me coming (as opposed to one of my staff) it meant the problem was BIG!
I was as welcome a sight as Darth Vader.

[DFW]

45. My coming will admittedly not cause the same reaction as what Darth Vader might cause

Although after weeks of our three grandchildren, the State of Hawai'i may declare the date of our departure a State Holiday from here on in. If the Mayors of Kona and Waikoloa come to see us off, and start repeating "mahalo" to the pilot of the plane taking us away, we'll know for sure.

[ProfessorGAC]

50. Beauty!!!

Have a good time in Hawaii!

[róisín_dubh]

40. Awwww she will treasure such memories.

I miss my grandpa every day. What I wouldn't give to sit and have a coffee with him (though he'd lecture me about having not visited Italy yet...)

[DFW]

44. I miss mine, too!

He lived to be 102, and has his wits about him to the end. At age 99, he sent out a Christmas card with a photo of himself, looking very much his age, with the caption: "Compliments of the Seasoned." He wouldn't lecture me about anything other than how beautiful he thought his great-grandkids were, and he never got an argument from us of that (or any other) subject.

[niyad]

46. Thank you so very much for sharing this beautiful ray of sunshine and joy with us.

It truly gladdens the spirits.

Safe travels to you all.

[DFW]

47. Thanks, Niyad!

We have many miles to go before we sleep, that's for sure.

[Harker]

48. That's living the high life!

Your priorities are impeccable.

[DFW]

49. Gotta stop and get out of the fast lane every now and then

It just ain't worth it if all you see is a blur of the world flying by.

[Harker]

51. Wise words.

If there's any blurring in my life, it's strictly on my terms.

[alwaysinasnit]

52. Thanks for sharing and giving us a reason to smile.

[elleng]

53. Great!

[AnotherMother4Peace]

56. Very nice picture. Very sweet. You and your granddaughter are lovely.

Thank you for sharing and giving me a smile.

[trof]

57. You look like a central casting grandpa.

And I mean that as a compliment.
What's you grandpa name?
I'm 'Baba'.

[DFW]

64. There WAS a time when I was the central casting pirate

Last edited Wed Mar 30, 2022, 12:36 PM - Edit history (1)

But time moved on, and central casting forgot to call me!

PS--I'm "Opa" by the way.

[11 Bravo]

58. CUTE ALERT!!!

What a little doll. You're indeed a lucky man, DFW.

[Liberal In Texas]

59. Lovely. And those grandkids grow up faster than the kids did.

It's nice that you are able to do this. Worth more than all the gold in the world.

[DFW]

69. And a LOT easier to carry around! n/t

[Sogo]

60. She is precious!

[stollen]

61. Ihre Familie ist sehr hubsch.

Sind Ihre Enkel mehrsprachig? Fließendes Deutsch zum Beispiel?

[DFW]

70. Zweisprachig Deutsch/Englisch

Der Kleine in New York bekommt Russisch dazu.

[Demovictory9]

62. very nice photo

[Meowmee]

65. Such a cutie...precious memories 😀

[kentuck]

67. A well-traveled man is a well-educated man.

It is admirable what you are doing, DFW.

[DFW]

68. I appreciate the point of view

Some would no doubt prefer the view that a well-traveled man is a pompous know-it all

I look at my family, consider the math genius, the hotshot legal mind, the PhD in Engineering, the tireless social worker, the adventurer who is sent on development aid trips to Muslim areas of sub-Saharan Africa, none of whom are me, and say, damn, I'm pretty far down the totem pole. But you know what? There's no requirement that everyone has to be top dog, and I can live with that just fine.