- I can't seem to lose the southern accent
- For the life of me, I can't keep the house straight (like mom's)
- It was too cold to swim in Wisconsin today
- Nobody has called me "hon" (short for honey) all day
- I didn't have to worry about fighting mosquitoes once
- I haven't had sweet tea in 24 hours
- There's no Sonic half price drinks
- There's no Grandma to do the cooking, clean the laundry or love my children
- There's no family at all (I loved being with my family!)
Reflecting on how much I miss my family and living in the south made me think of some writing I did a few years ago. It paints a picture of what I miss most. I wrote this in my journal on July 4, 2005.
Here I am - my hometown. It's the 4th of July and I've come "home" to be with family. My husband, Ken, left our home in Wisconsin three days ago and headed north to the boundary waters to canoe and fish with friends. Determined not to be left alone with my children for the holiday, I packed us all like sardines into our Toyota Sienna, along with Sadie, the twelve-year-old daughter of a friend, and headed south with promises of fun and adventure.
The South has always been a place to look forward to for me. It's where I was born. It's where I went to school and made friends and fell in love. It's where I spent the 1st half of my life, and it's where all my family is now. I've been gone for 20 years now, but somehow, it still has a hold on me. It made me who I am today, and it's how I still define myself. I'm a Southerner. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but it's a label I wear like a badge of honor.
I've lived in the Midwest now for as long as I lived in the South, and yet, I am not a Midwesterner. And now, when I meet someone from the South, there is an instant comraderie - a quiet understanding that we are part of the same sorority, or should I say cult, where the foods we eat, the beverages we drink, and the words we say set us apart from all the rest. There's just something about the South, and now here I am - home!
Today, we spent the day with family. My siblings and I gathered our 12 children along with grandparents and great-grandparents to swim and celebrate together. I watched as cousins got reacquainted, as aunts and uncles held new nieces and nephews, as grandparents laughed at the adorable antics of grandchildren and as my mom reveled in the togetherness of family. It was a beautiful day full of sunshine, good food and fireworks, and I smiled as I watched my life replaying itself in the lives of my children.
The older children ran around the house in little clusters hunting for one another in a game of hide-and-seek until one by one they came and asked for jars to collect lightning bugs. The smaller children were shouting in delight everytime one would light up, and they would take off, hands in the air, trying to catch one for their collection. The goal - who could get the most in their jar? Just when they didn't think they could run another step, Granny came to the rescue with a batch of homemade vanilla ice cream. We sat on Mom's porch and ate until our teeth hurt from the cold. A sudden quietness fell over us as we relived a night like so many nights that had come before - in our childhood.
I remember the summer nights as a child...when we would gather the neighborhood kids for a huge game of "kick the can". Somehow our yard was always the starting point...Life was simple, neighborhoods were safe and homemade ice cream was always the perfect way to end the evening.
And now, my children run this same playing field, hide in the same bushes and sit on the same porch to catch their breath. They were not born here, and yet, they are southerners just like me. Someday, they might not think so, but for now, that's how I see them.
Well, as the day came to a close, we piled into our cars and headed out in search of fireworks to end our day together. We sat on a blanket in the middle of a dark soccer field. We sprayed bug spray, ate popcorn, and listened to the oohs & aahs of our children with each and every pop. When the show was over, it was one more game of freeze tag for the kids. I just sat back and thought how most people would see this day as boring or "small town", but to me, it was perfect!
