OPINION: Secondhand excitement

On Wednesday, May 6, my parents left for a trip my mother has been dreaming about all my life. I can’t remember a time she wasn’t in love with Ireland.

The original plan was for my parents to go for their 25th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, that happened when everything was shut down for COVID, so they had to pivot. The new plan was for May 2026. While a couple of roadblocks tried to foil their plans yet again, they finally made it to the Emerald Isle after an overnight flight from Chicago.

I’ve been very excited for my parents, just ask my coworkers. Every time I got an update from my parents, I shared with everyone. I’m someone who has a long list of things I want to do before I die. My mom? She couldn’t think of anything for her bucket list other than Ireland. She finally got to live her dream, and I couldn’t be happier for her.

Of course, I said both my parents went on this trip. Even before leaving, my dad said this was the last time he was leaving the continent, unless my sister or I did something drastic like move overseas. As a tall man who flies economy, my dad hates flights in general. Make them eight hours long and he’s basically in hell.

Though the trip was my mom’s dream, there was plenty for my dad to enjoy. As long as he gets to be outside and moving around, he’s happy. Well, between ghost walks, castle tours and hikes to waterfalls, he was able to keep active. Plus, there’s all the Irish beer!

My parents didn’t go alone. A couple that happens to be some of their best friends went with - and by went with, I mean the wife did a majority of the planning. People who know me or my dad think we’re intense in vacation planning. Well, they’ve never met her.

Even when just on a weekend trip up north in Wisconsin, the four get into plenty of mischief, so I’m sure I’ll be hearing stories from Ireland for years to come.

While hearing about their trip is fun because I love travel and I wanted them to have a wonderful experience, there’s also this secondhand excitement knowing it was a trip planned for so long. Every castle, every Guinness, every sheep, it was all part of the experience.

Plus, since I studied abroad in England, there are plenty of similarities and cultural things I know and love that my parents got to experience together. And to quick save myself from the Irish, I am well aware not to lump Ireland and England together too closely. However, they share plenty of cultural similarities that we don’t see in the U.S.!

I haven’t seen my parents in person since the trip, and it will probably be a while, but I can’t wait to get a tour of their trip through photos. In the few I did get while they were traveling, my mom is beaming. I’m excited to eventually hear all the stories!