I think it will be best to begin this post with a very real dialogue that occurred outside of our room yesterday.
Understand as you read this that we drove from Richmond, Virginia to Orlando, Florida. Three of us (mom, dad, and me) took the trip in my dad's work van. And there are no seats in the back of that Chevy which leads to what you are about to read. (My sisters and I used to happily refer to this seat-less situation as the "Rolly Polly" game when we were little.) On this occasion we were heading from Orlando into Lakeland, where both of my parents grew up, met each other, and had my two older sisters.
Mom: "Well Bob how is Rebecca gonna see the sights and the things in Lakeland if there's no seat for her to sit in??"
Dad: "What do you mean? Of course there're seats - we have four chairs out on the balcony here! We can just get one of the chairs and stick it in the van Tracy. Don't try and act like we don't have any chairs..."
Mom: "Oh well yeah I guess you're right, that's a good idea. Okay well let's go get one of those chairs off the balcony, okay Rebecca? Then you can see all the places your daddy grew up"
PAUSE. These chairs never belonged, nor will they ever belong, to my parents. They belong to the resort we are staying at, and they are patio chairs. And also, you can note that my parents still refer to themselves as "momma" and "daddy" when it comes to me.
Me: "Um, well alright, yeah, sure... that sounds like a great idea. One of y'all need to get the chair though."
Dad: "Alright sweeeeety"
That's the situation. I'll try and post a picture of it later this week. This, my blogosphere friends, is my family - minus my two sisters. It's always been this way and at the ripe age of twenty-five I can proudly say that I belong here. Many other stories like this have transpired over the years and have formed what I call a very distinct, diverse, and interesting group of related individuals called the Nudelman's. I'm so glad I have this opportunity to spend a couple months in the States soaking up some time with them and am constantly recognizing God's sovereignty as it relates to this very large piece of my life.
The pinnacle of that trip to Lakeland: a world-class cheese steak, seeing dad's old neighborhood, praying with mom at Lake Morton, seeing where my parents got married, and going to the Chinese buffet with my extended family on mom's side - thankfully we were able to get together. I love Lakeland!
More to come. Please bear with me as I keep making changes on the blog - just keeping it fresh!
