A retired teacher, a teenage grandson, and the rocks that carry their story.
When the phone rings, this grandmother answers
My family knows better than to ask me for math help. That’s beyond my pay grade. The same isn’t true, however, when they need a letter written, a resume edited, or a critical eye on my grandchildren’s school essays before handing them in. That’s when the phone rings for my help and feedback on the task at hand.
I wasn’t surprised, then, when my daughter called to say, “Mom, you already know I’m going with Noah on his school trip to Greece and Italy this summer, but he can earn scholarship aid if he writes about his reason for going — a contest sponsored by the tour company. Can you help him write it and then show him how to present it in a video?”
I guess it makes sense that, as a retired English and speech teacher, I’m still on call — especially for my 15-year-old grandson. Teaching and supporting run deep in an aging body, no matter how old I get. Besides, I travel a fair amount and want Noah to experience what Mark Twain meant when he wrote that “travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
Brainstorming together: A grandmother travel tradition
Teaching teens, however, is about helping them discover their own voice, often by throwing out ideas to see which will stick on their walls. So, Noah and I brainstormed together for his contest, and he developed the following to rehearse for the eventual video he submitted:
In Noah’s own words
When my GiGi (grandma) travels, she always brings me back a rock from Mt. Everest, the El Camino trail in Spain, or her mountain gorilla trek in Rwanda..
“Noah,” she says, “you are the only grandchild in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the U.S., maybe even the world, who has a special rock from a special place, given to you by your GiGi.” Even when I was five or six, she stopped shopping for gifts at a foreign bazaar and started rock hunting instead.
But what she brought back with the rock was her travel stories. She would tell me about sleeping in Jordan’s Wadi Rum, where the stars, she said, literally met the edges of her sleeping bag. She talked about stumbling stones she was alerted to in a European Gothic quarter, listing the last place a Jewish person was seen before being arrested by the Nazis. She talked about hiking down after sleeping out on the other side of a mountain in Bhutan to Tiger’s Nest Monastery, listening to the monks’ chanting grow louder with each step. My GiGi can talk.
To be honest, I don’t know how much of what she says sticks with me. It’s her experience, not mine. But when my mom suggested the EF trip to Greece and Italy, I wasn’t excited at first. As a teen, I wanted to know which of my friends were also going. I didn’t want to go without friends. Then my GiGi shared her opinion. “Noah, go for it. This is your chance to get out of your comfort zone and find out who you are by learning who other people around the world are. Besides, I want you to bring back a rock for me.”
My GiGi is an adventurer. She wants me to be one, too. So I’ll be looking for rocks to bring back to her, even though the rocks themselves mean little. But the memories from this trip will be something I can share with her and others. I love my GiGi, so I want to go rock hunting for her. More importantly, I want to go rock hunting for myself. She has urged me to take the risk. Now it is my time to begin the journey.
The real prize wasn’t the scholarship
Noah did not win the contest, so he and his mom will pay full price. Win or lose, I hope that someday Noah has his own rocks to share with his kids and takes to heart what H. Jackson Brown Jr. once observed: regret tends to come not from the risks we took, but from the ones we let pass us by.
As any grandmother who loves to travel knows, the real gift isn’t the destination — it’s watching your grandchild take the first step on their own.
More about grandparents, grandchildren, and the power of travel
How can grandparents inspire grandchildren to travel?
Sharing personal travel stories and creating meaningful traditions— like bringing back a small souvenir from each trip (it doesn’t have to be expensive) — can spark grandchildren’s curiosity. Grandmother travel stories don’t have to be lectures; the key is making travel feel like an adventure, letting young people discover their own reasons to explore the world.
What are the benefits of multigenerational travel?
Multigenerational travel strengthens the bond between grandparents and grandchildren by creating shared experiences and memories. It also exposes younger travelers to diverse cultures and perspectives, fostering empathy and independence — something a grandparent’s stories alone can’t fully achieve.
How do you encourage a reluctant teen to travel?
Rather than pressuring teens, let them hear from someone they trust about why travel matters. A grandparent sharing their own adventures — including the unexpected, uncomfortable, and unforgettable moments — can be more persuasive than any brochure. Sometimes all it takes is a nudge to step outside their comfort zone.
Beverly Graves is a retired English and speech teacher and a frequent contributor to fyi50+.
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