Grandparents Day

When my Omi was eight, her father decided to leave his native Germany and start a new life in Brazil. Because Omi was strong and a hard worker, she was the one who helped her father cut down trees and build a house in the middle of the jungle. During her time in Brazil my grandmother had many adventures and I loved hearing her tell her amazing stories when she would come to visit. But the best story by far was the one about the snakebite. With a wonderful sense of drama, Omi would pull back her trouser leg and reveal the most magnificent scar -- the result of a snakebite.Omi's sense of adventure and love of travel infected her children and grandchildren. At sixteen, my youngest brother signed on as the only crew member on a sailboat headed across the Atlantic, Omi's children scattered to the four corners of the globe, and I suffer from perpetual wanderlust. When I took my daughter to Japan a few years ago, we headed for the Tateyama mountains where we went hiking and camping. Somehow, we managed to get lost, and I wish we had had Omi's compass to guide us back to civilization!All of these family adventures, spanning decades and continents, influenced and inspired Grandparents' Day. And, of course, Omi's sense of adventure and her willingness to travel, learn, and embrace new experiences throughout her lifetime has had a tremendous impact on the way I live my own life.Tate, Nikki is the author of 'Grandparents Day', published 2004 under ISBN 9781550378436 and ISBN 1550378430.