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- For 24 years, Grandma Noreen has taken every of her 16 grandchildren on a one-on-one journey after they completed eighth grade.
- This 12 months, eight of the grandchildren took their grandmother on a shock journey to Hawaii.
Traveling together with your family members could make for among the most treasured recollections – and Britney Lindgren’s household is aware of this firsthand. For the previous 24 years, Lindgren’s grandmother has taken all 16 grandchildren on a devoted one-on-one journey. This 12 months, they returned the favor with a shock journey to their Grandma Noreen’s personal dream vacation spot.
Since 2000, Grandma Noreen has deliberate a visit for every grandchild after they end eighth grade. Along the best way, they’ve made lifelong recollections, from getting misplaced in Florida trying to observe MapQuest instructions to swimming with dolphins in California. At 87 years previous, Grandma Noreen typically calls herself blessed.
The roles reversed this previous July when eight of the 16 grandchildren took her on a visit to Hawaii, a spot she’s all the time wished to go to.
In a now-viral TikTok posted by Lindgren final week, the household is seen onboard a Hawaiian Airlines flight to Oahu when a flight attendant makes an sudden announcement over the intercom of a “shout out from a very grateful group of grandkids” to a “true VIP” onboard – their grandmother.
The grandchildren secretly deliberate this public declaration as a option to specific their appreciation, the purpose of creating her really feel particular from the second the journey started. “She’s got a million stories, she loves to share them and it’s so lovely,” Lindgren instructed USA TODAY. “We were like, well, we’re all gonna be sitting together. She might not be able to share her stories with people, so let’s make sure her story is told.”
In the TikTok, the flight attendant reads a script written by Lindgren: “We’re still not sure how she did it but somehow she made every single trip unforgettable and never met a stranger along the way. So now it’s her turn. They’re taking her on her dream trip and doing their best to stop her from organizing the whole thing.”
“Grandma Noreen, thank you for your love, your courage, and your endless curiosity, for being our biggest fan, our favorite travel buddy, and the queen of making memories,” the crew member continued because the grandmother wipes tears from her eyes.
A longstanding household custom
The custom began in 2000 with Lindgren, the eldest grandchild, when she was 14 years previous. Lindgren’s grandfather had all of a sudden handed in 1996, leaving Grandma Noreen questioning what to do throughout retirement – the thought of a grandmother-granddaughter journey struck.
The two went to New York City, the place they waved indicators within the crowd for the “Today Show” and watched a river dance efficiency since Lindgren was a dancer rising up.
Since then, Grandma Noreen has repeated the journey with every of her 16 grandchildren. (They suggest a number of vacation spot choices, however the closing selection is grandma-approved.)
With one in all them in tow, she’s visited the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida; NASCAR race retailers in North Carolina; and the Basketball Hall of Fame in Boston. She additionally took an Amtrak journey with one other grandchild to Washington, D.C. – a journey that granddaughter hopes to recreate along with her personal kids.
Last 12 months, Grandma Noreen went on her closing journey with the youngest grandchild, so now was the time for her personal journey goals to come back true.
Story continues beneath.
For years, the grandchildren had been discussing an all-cousin journey as a kind of reunion, however wished to incorporate their grandmother. They requested her the place she’s all the time wished to go, and he or she answered with Hawaii. It was the place her husband was stationed through the Korean War, and a spot the couple by no means made it to collectively.
“In my head, I was like, I can’t hear my grandma say she wished she did something and not try and make it happen for her,” Katie Sypniewski, one of many grandchildren, instructed USA TODAY. “So, I just shared the idea with my parents and then some of my cousins, and we just started kind of seeing how we could make it work.”
This previous Christmas, the household stunned her with a visit to Hawaii by inserting a lei, or flower necklace, round her neck. Although all 16 grandchildren tried to make the journey, solely eight have been in a position to go. Significant others weren’t invited – it was simply household time.
Quality time in Hawaii
Lindgren’s household is fast to smile when interested by their weeklong journey to Hawaii with their grandmother, from visiting Pearl Harbor to taking part in within the waves on the North Shore and changing into hooked on Dole Whip, the well-known pineapple-flavored comfortable serve from the Dole Food Company.
The eight grandchildren had been to Hawaii earlier than, and wrote their very own island-wide tour to take their grandmother on – every contributing one thing to indicate her. A second that stood out to the household was touring Schofield Barracks, the place their grandfather was stationed through the 50s. It was a must-do for Grandma Noreen.
“We all have busy lives and we’re all in our 20s and 30s, so it was just fun to be able to just slow down,” Lindgren stated. “I don’t even know the last time we’ve spent six days together if we ever have consecutively, like all as cousins.”
The journey gave Lindgren and her household uncommon time with simply one another, no outdoors distractions or obligations. “Even then (at family reunions), our partners, our kids, our parents, our everybody is in one house together, so it’s not as much quality time, just the specific people,” she added.
In a bit of over every week, Lindgren’s TikTok acquired over 4.5 million views. “It’s been pretty cool to hear people’s stories, how they wanna take my grandma’s legacy and pass it on to their families, or sharing stories of their own family experiences,” Lindgren stated. “It’s pretty cool to see that the impact she has on us, she now has on a lot of other people.”
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