by Gretel

Created on: October 01, 2009

Difficult as it is to admit, I find myself waxing a bit sentimental as I reluctantly settle into adulthood. (Adulthood? How did that happen? Better still, how on earth do I stop it?)

When I think on childhood and reflect on days gone by, I find myself feeling like a stranger to my own life. I feel like the old life is dead and I'm a different person now. Then I find myself wondering if I'll ever find myself.

So much has changed and I've lost so many people in my life. They were the only connections to my past and now that they're no longer in my life, the past only exists when I choose to revisit it in my mind. Most of the time I choose not to, for I find it far too depressing.

But when I think of my grandmother who lived in Blue Mountain, Mississippi and all the times we shared when I stayed summers with her or when she stayed for weeks or even months at a time with us in Memphis, I remember all those little things about her that I haven't seen since. Now I fear that I'll one day forget all those little "Southern-isms" that I've grown too "city-fied" and metropolitan for. I kind of miss them, actually.

I think we all remember that simple time in childhood when just a pile of dirt could occupy us for hours of enjoyment. But there's just something unique about being raised in the South...and here's a list of things that might explain why:

I miss...

1.) the way "over yonder" was used as a legitimate location

2.) the way my grandmother said "dolla" when speaking of the currency

3.) the way the old folks would talk about Country music stars like they actually knew them

4.) the way everyone was upset when Conway Twitty died

5.) the way I'd get bundled up like I was about to go into a blizzard when the temperature fell below 55 degrees Fahrenheit

6.) the way my mother would get offended if she was in a group that was referred to as, "you guys" and the way she'd quite vocally and vehemently deny that she was in fact, a guy

7.) being called "Hon" (you gotta draw it out too, honey. In fact, forget the o. Make it a u.)

8.) the way pants were never called pants; they were always "britches"

9.) the way "ugly" was a state of being or a way of acting, not an appearance

10.) being told "pretty is as pretty does."

11.) the way whenever you asked for something and "I reckon" was as good as a "yes"

12.) the way my grandmother called me and my brother "sugar-boogars;" sometimes we were sweet, and sometimes we weren't

13.) the way you were never satisfied with just one or two pets; no, you had

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