A few months after my Grandmother passed away I got a letter from a law firm with a cheque enclosed. Yogi, as she was affectionately known in our family, had left her five grandchildren a small inheritance. This left me with a quandary I hadn’t expected; How can I make this gift really mean something.
As I stood in my kitchen holding the letter printed on the kind of high grade paper you would expect a law firm to use, I felt a little strange looking at the cheque, almost uncomfortable, as if somehow I had cashed in my grandmother for a little bit of loot. Yogi wasn’t a rich lady by any means so it honestly hadn’t occurred to me that there might be even a small inheritance.
Make no mistake, I was not in the least bit ungrateful, just unsure as to what to do with this money. If I banked the cheque I knew it would just be swallowed up in the benign expenditure of day to day life, and I didn’t want my Grandmothers money to bleed away paying some boring bill or a portion of my monthly rent. I wanted to do something special with this money, something that she might have done herself, but what?
It then occurred to me that Yogi had always enjoyed hearing about my travels. The postcards that I sent her from various locations around the world were always on the wall when I visited her. Despite my asking she wasn’t one for telling her own stories, but she always seemed to enjoy mine, asking me how long it would take to get to this place or that, and what I had done while I was there. It seemed to me that Yogi enjoyed my wandering ways so I had the perfect idea of what to do with her final gift. I would travel.
Thanks to the emergence of low cost airlines the money she had left could go long way if spent wisely. So I purchased a pre-paid MasterCard and reserved it solely for the purpose of buying flights to places I’d never seen before.
Pretty soon I had booked two trips. First would be a weekend in Oslo, followed not long afterward with a trip to Italy, and all for the grand total of a little less that £40!
I was of course delighted at the bargain tickets, but also pleased that while she’s no longer around to send postcards to, Yogi gets to be a part of these trips, and at the price of these tickets I suspect she might be a part of quite a few more to come too.
Thanks Yogi!
Wrote the following comment on Jul 30, 2010 at 1:21 pm
I’m sure your Yogi would be very pleased with that idea.
Wrote the following comment on Jul 30, 2010 at 2:14 pm
what a great way to remember your grandmother, simon! i’m also glad you share about your travels via your blog.
Wrote the following comment on Jul 30, 2010 at 5:36 pm
That’s a lovely idea Simon, but wait a second, you got return flights to and from Oslo, AND Italy for £40? How the heck did you do that?
Wrote the following comment on Jul 31, 2010 at 4:43 am
Brilliant idea Simon…why was Yogi called Yogi? I had a penfriend in Oslo when I was a teenager…will be interesting to see your pictures when you get back from that trip. As it is with all your trips. By the way I’ll send you details of a website offering massive discounts on restaurants and loads of other things in America ~ Portland etc. They do the same for London in this country…but I know your love of America so I thought you might find it useful. Enjoy Oslo and Italy Simon
Wrote the following comment on Jul 31, 2010 at 7:50 am
Bella, he’s using RyanAirs £1 offers.
He’d give Martin Lewis a run for his money :-)
Wrote the following comment on Jul 31, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Love this way you are honoring your grandmother. Love how you thought beyond what was money to the heart of it. Have a delightful time traveling!
Wrote the following comment on Jul 31, 2010 at 6:46 pm
@ Bella – The cheap fairs are with Ryanair. You have to just keep your eyes open and see what they have coming up, they have a sale every week with limited very cheap tickets. If you’re quick you can be one of the ‘lucky’ ones. I say ‘lucky’ because Ryanair has to be the most uninspiring way to fly, but in fairness if you pay just £20 to fly to Italy then what can you expect, right?
@ Lyna – I am a little behind on my blog at the moment and have already been to Oslo, so look out for that post soon (It’s sometimes hard to find the time to write post and choose the pictures). But yeah, send me the link to the discounts, I’m always open to saving a few quid here and there :-)
As for why Yogi was called Yogi, I believe it is because she didn’t want to be called Grandma because that made her feel old. So she chose the name Yogi (I think), perhaps after Yogi Bear. Whatever the reason, it was a name that stuck.
Wrote the following comment on Jul 31, 2010 at 7:19 pm
My ol grandma was affectionately known as “Book” to us. I never really found out why, but I believe it was because she always had a book in her hand. She passed away when I was a teenager.
Wrote the following comment on Aug 1, 2010 at 12:16 pm
I have become a Grandma ~ love it ~ although I too love books I quite fancy being Yogi. I like the term Grandma but a nickname would be brilliant. Yes, I remember Yogi Bear lol but there is another link, with wisdom so very appropriate for a Grandmother. If we don’t come up with a nickname of our own are you comfortable with me using your lovely Grandmother’s nickname Simon…?
I’ll look out for the Oslo blog and also sort out the discount site for you (should get chance during coming week). Hope you’re enjoying your weekend Simon.
Wrote the following comment on Aug 1, 2010 at 6:10 pm
@ Lyna – I think if you took the name ‘Yogi’ that would be great :-)
Wrote the following comment on Aug 1, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Simon,
I think that your way of spending the inheritance from your grandmother is wonderful. It’s much more meaningful than other ways it could be spent.
Wrote the following comment on Aug 1, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Simon it’s a pleasure and a privilege then for Megan, my Grandaughter, to call me Yogi…thanks Simon :-)
Wrote the following comment on Aug 2, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Hi Simon…here is the link for the discounts:
deals@livingsocial.com
I don’t know when you are next in America but I hope it’s useful for when you go. As I say there are loads of places in the States plus London. I see today they are introducing Birmingham very soon, so hopefully it will grow to other places in the Uk.
Have a good week :)
Lyna
Wrote the following comment on Aug 2, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Yogi is a good name for a grandparent because in the Buddhist context it’s often used in connection with Buddhist monks or someone who is devoted to meditation. Hinduism also has Yogi’s, often they are masters of Yoga, but in one text it is written at a yogi is someone who knows that the entire cosmos is situated within their own body.
Your grandmother picked an excellent nickname Simon.
Wrote the following comment on Aug 2, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Thanks Jean-Pierre ~ cute as Yogi bear is I remembered the name having other associations. The text you mentioned re: entire cosmos being situated within the body…I think that might be linked to the wisdom I mentioned in one of my earlier messages. It’s all linked ~ Grandma/Yogi and wisdom.
Besides all the deeper stuff it is a lovely warm & affectionate nickname. A nickname my grand-daughter is now able to use. I am really pleased, thanks again Simon.
Wrote the following comment on Aug 3, 2010 at 8:08 am
Sorry Lyna, I didn’t see that first time. I didn’t mean to repeat you.
Wrote the following comment on Aug 4, 2010 at 4:43 am
Jean-Pierre I was thanking you in a roundabout way. I couldn’t quite make the full link with wisdom until you gave us the details. I appreciated that ~ thanks. I have a fasination with the meaning of names and their origins :)
Wrote the following comment on Aug 4, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Wow, you’ve done some serious traveling! Did you take those pictures in the ‘postcards’ collection above?
Wrote the following comment on Aug 9, 2010 at 5:28 am
Thats a really sweet and thoughtful way to honour her. See you soon ;)
Wrote the following comment on Aug 9, 2010 at 10:21 pm
@ Carly – Yep, those are some of my pics there. In fact so much travel I’ve not had much time to keep my blog up to date!
Wrote the following comment on Aug 13, 2010 at 5:12 pm
As usual… great pics, great writing, great way to remember Yogi!
Wrote the following comment on Aug 22, 2010 at 9:06 pm
I wouldn’t be surprise if that is what Yogi had in mind when she left you the money. Great idea, Simon.
Wrote the following comment on Aug 29, 2010 at 1:44 am
Simon, I love postcards! And I am enjoying your blog, perhaps only because it has been raining hard all day long. My grandma was Dee, so my grandpa was Daddy Dee.
There are references to a trip to America. Couch surfing can help. I can return the hosting favor.