There are many cities we have lived in. Boston, Amsterdam, Al Jubail, Tübingen. Or in which our children have lived or still do. Barcelona, Vienna, Montreal, Sydney, Brighton, Oxford, St. Andrews.
Dallas is where the headquarters of the company I worked for from 1997 to 2021 is located. I never lived there, but I felt, I travelled to Dallas a thousand times.
✳ Landing in the early afternoon, usually on Sundays
✳ At MacArthur Boulevard having outside an ice cream, especially on winter trips, when it was still cold in Germany.
✳ Using jet lag to do the work-out very early, before going to the Celanese Office at 5:30 am.
✳ Not to be missed: A stroll along the Mandalay Canal Walk or past the Mustangs of Las Colinas Sculptures.
✳ And always before the flight home, the shopping stop at the Grapevine Mills Mall with the family shopping list in my hands.
Dallas became a part of my life history. And my family only knew this part from my stories …
… until we changed that.
When the family vacation in Florida was planned, we did not book a direct flight from Frankfurt to Miami, but chose the long detour via Dallas. During the two days of stop-over, we all walked in my footsteps together (how nice!) and even had time for the JFK Museum and the Art District. However, the Grapevine Mills Mall was the most popular. Our then 11- and 15-year-old daughters had not touched the monthly clothing budget for three months and were able to draw from the full here and now in Dallas. A dream!
And for my spouse and me, it was not the last trip to Dallas together.
And today? Now, in my new phase of life, I somewhat miss the trips to Dallas. I admit that. But maybe we’ll go there again, who knows? And if not, Dallas is and will remain a living memory of family history, forever connecting us all with shared experiences and many narratives.
How do you connect your business life with family life?
