A few days ago a random picture of the Parliament Building in Budapest appeared on the TV. Googlecast was playing a slide show, it wasn’t one of mine. Faith, my 8 year old said, “Daddy, that’s in Budapest!” Because we had seen the building, a beautiful building, when we toured back in November. This (like so many other things) got me thinking.
By the time I was 8 I had gone to Jackson, 3 hours away. I had been to New Orleans, and the panhandle of Florida. Went into the Holiday Inn where they filmed the opening scene of Jaws 2, it was exciting. My furthest trip was to Aunt Nancy and Uncle Junior’s. We’d gone their plenty, about 5 hours away in the heart of LA. The original LA, Lower Alabama. I had not even made it to Georgia yet, that wouldn’t be until 10 when I went with Uncle Junior to fish in Georgia, and it wasn’t until 13 I made it to the big city of Atlanta.
When I was growing up the menu at McDonald’s overwhelmed me with options, whatever will I get? I remember standing in a Taco Bell on the beach (near the Beer Barn) and thinking what’s a belgrande because I had no clue. I didn’t get to eat fast food.
Faith is a different issue. She asks for ‘her usual’ when we go to McDonald’s, or Popeye’s, or several other places. She asks, “Remember when we were in Paris?” and identifies places and things that I’m more drop-jawed and google-eyed for seeing than her because I’ve heard of these things my whole life and never really knew I could get to see them. I’ve seen things built by the Romans and what did the Romans ever do for us?
So what’s my point? I don’t know, I love that I’ve given my daughters a chance to see things halfway around the world. I love that her world includes parts outside the sweet, heavenly comfort of the Deep South. But where does it go from here?