the South.

Not too long ago, my blog buddy Kodi wrote a post that got me thinking. I could completely see where she was coming from and I told her so, but then it made me do a bit more soul searching.

I am ridiculously proud to be from the South. Call me closed minded or whatever, but there is nowhere else I want to live. I've lived in the Midwest, my parents live up North and they are both great places, but my heart is deeply rooted in the South.

Why is that?

When I think of the South, I think of deeply rooted family ties, pride in where you come from, Spanish moss, long summer days, history, boys in seersucker, little girls in smocked dresses and big bows, sweet tea, a big front porch, pearls, and old ladies in hair parlors. I. Love. It. Here.

I think sometimes the pride that Southerners have can come off a bit as arrogance. And maybe sometimes we are arrogant because 99% of people I know down here, truly think the South is the best. It's a deep, deep pride. People from Texas to me are sort of the same. They just love where they live.

Tradition is big down here. From how we dress our kids, to how we dress ourselves, to how we decorate and take care of our home. Things are instilled in us at a young age down here that maybe aren't hit quite as hardcore elsewhere. Manners are HUGE. Yes ma'am, no sir, please, thank you, thank you notes; they're not optional in many families and I love that. Perhaps a good dose of politeness would do this country good no?

Because we live in such a traditional part of the country, I think we fight hard to keep those alive in a country that seems to be moving so fast away from the slow, easy paced lifestyle we try to live. Maybe that comes across as snobbish to some when we talk about our stationery, our homes, our children in the way we do, but we won't apologize. This is important to us.

I'm not saying we are more polite than everyone else for sure. I've met some rude people all over this country. Another thing I think is the sign of the times. Sadness. Someone also made the comment about us not going out "not done". Well.. that's sort of true. While I will go to Wal*Mart in my pajamas, my makeup will be done. That's from my Grandma and I love it. I think it's another Southern thing. It's different down here y'all.

All this to say, the blog land is so awesome because it opens your eyes up to so many different areas of the county. Most of my closest blog friends are from up North and do things a lot different than me. And that's totally cool. They don't judge me when I dress my kid in the big 'ol smocking they don't care for while I don't judge them when their babies wear jeans which I don't care for. And isn't that the point of blogging? So you can meet people from all over and see what different areas of the country are proud of and whats important to them?

I love the South. I'll never apologize for that. So you tell me... where are you from and what do you love most about it?