When I go home, my family, friends, people in the bodega (corner store), have a brief look of befuddlement when they see me. Most of the time "the look" is so slight that I think I may have imagined it. Is it because they haven't seen me in a while? Am I feeling a little out of place? Can they hear the little country twang I've picked up in the last 10 years? Maybe its the "yes ma'am and no sir"?
It wasn't long before my straight-forward-no nonsense auntie, Clare Ruth Robertson said, "Ooo...you gettin a little country aren't you?! I mean you've picked up a twang, and that was expected, but you eating and dressing a little country, too. And what's up with all this ma'am business?"
What!? What was she talking about? All I had on was a pair of blue jeans, a sweatshirt, and a pair of low heel-almost-no-heel boots. Then I took a look around. Everyone was "dressed down" for northern standards, with their feet wrapped in Manolo Blahniks and Jimmy Choos, and their backs draped in designer threads. And while they were drinking their Pepsi, I was sipping on a sweet tea from McDonald's (the only place you'll find it).
Wow, I guess I have changed the way I dress, it's comfortable and it won't break the bank. My tea is sweet because there is no other way to enjoy it...is there? I think it's polite to say "yes ma'am and no sir", and I believe I'm going to keeping saying it, too.
All I have to say to all that shoot me "the look" when I go home, "I'm enjoying who I am, and my southern state of mind."
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