A Very Special Family Trip We’ll Always Remember

My family visited Indiana this past week to experience the amazing total solar eclipse. We spent some quality time with our good friends René and Lisa de Lambert, enjoyed some great food, and went someplace special someone in our family never visited before they passed away.

Quick Background

My family has an interesting religious makeup.

My father grew up Presbyterian. He married my mother, who was a devout Catholic. My sister and I were raised Catholic. After my mother passed away, my dad married a wonderful Lutheran woman.

Then I married into a Jewish family.

My mother was a big sports fan and loved the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. (And De Paul Blue Deacons. And St. John’s. And Seton Hall — which, ironically, is where my Jewish father-in-law went to college. True story.)

But the University of Notre Dame is special for many Catholic families because it’s, well, Notre Dame.

Unfortunately, Mom gave in to many phobias that prevented her from seeing the world. And she always seemed enamored with the Notre Dame campus.

So, visiting Notre Dame during our short time in South Bend was high on my to-do list.

The University of Notre Dame

We first saw the beautiful University of Notre Dame campus while on approach to the South Bend International Airport (SBN).

We visited Notre Dame the next day, which was rainy and cool.

Our daughter was enamored at seeing “college students — they’re like giants and so cool!”

We first stopped at the (massive) bookstore for some souvenirs. Then we meandered around campus for some of the “greatest hits.”

Sounds from the Clemson vs. Notre Dame baseball game drifted our way as we walked through the quad.

We saw the beautiful golden dome.

My wife and I love old churches. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart is absolutely stunning. As a recovering Catholic, it almost makes me want to go to Mass again.

Someone inside said, “This is more beautiful than St. Patrick’s in New York!” Them there is fighting words for some! 🙂

Visiting the Grotto and Lighting a Candle

René and I talked for years about my family coming to visit him. I always wanted to visit Notre Dame — and light a candle for my mother at the historical Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto.

I don’t know about you, but no matter how much I plan and prepare for something potentially emotional during a trip, it still seems to sneak up on me.

Seeing the Notre Dame Grotto literally took my breath away. Its beauty, history, and sanctity must be experienced. The flickering lights representing memorials, dreams, or prayers are truly something to behold.

I asked my daughter — already amazed at the sight in front of her — to help me light a candle.

“Okay, Dad,” she said. “Why are we lighting a candle?”

“Because my mom, one of your grandmas, always wanted to visit —“ That’s about as far as I got. (“Why is Daddy so sad?” she whispered to my wife, who quietly explained that the college we were visiting was someplace my mother wanted to see but died before she could.)

I got myself together enough to get a candle and small wooden wick. I asked my daughter to pick a place where we should put the candle. She chose one, and we borrowed a flame from a nearby candle and lit the memorial together.

It’s truly one of the most special memories our family will always treasure.

Final Approach

Points, miles, credit card benefits, and all that can redeemed for exotic trips and dream vacations. But they can also be used for other truly amazing and special moments, too.