Rules to Live By
It has been so fun getting these posts from blogosphere friends. And so serendipitous! Today’s missive from Renn are a few guidelines for getting alone as a transplant to the South. I think she lives near my cousin and from what I hear from him, these guidelines are spot on.
As you spend today recovering from Turkey and Fixin’s (not to mention the OD on the Family Time) look around and see if you can relate to any of this. Thanks, Renn!
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Well, it’s that time of year again. Time for bug eyed shopping, lack of sleep, setting up trees and ornaments and cleaning and baking and dinners and cookies and…
…Mania, apparently.
Unless you live here, that is.
Here would be a special little nook of Eastern North Carolina, nestled firmly amid cotton fields, tobacco fields, chicken and hog farms. Here, things don’t really change much at all, regardless of the time of year. Around here, life is all about the blessed routine.
People are nice enough, really. But it’s tough. I’m going on year fourteen as a Maine-iac in the South, and have yet to be considered ‘local’. I am still ‘That Girl from Way Up North; “That !@#$(%* Yankee”; “The One that Makes Weird Food”. I’ve come to accept it as ‘the way things are’.
Here are a few lessons I have learned along the way:
- Pajamas are not acceptable attire for the grocery store. Even if it’s only for a minute, and the pajamas are FLANNEL.
- Hair is to be set and rolled at the stylist weekly. In between settings, one must use ghastly amounts of hairspray and netting to keep the helmet head in place. Never fear, y’all. The Bouffant is alive and well here in Eastern NC.
- People will call you “Miss” even when you’re married. They will also call you Sugar. Get used to it.
- Do not accept the phrase “bless your heart” as a compliment. It’s akin to calling you ’special’, and not in the rare sense.
- Pick a team, any team. It’s either Devils (Duke), ‘Heals (UNC) or ‘Pack (NCSU). If you don’t pick one, it will be chosen for you. Do not, under any circumstances, pick the Pirates (ECU) as your team. You will be deemed a drunken easy target and tormented throughout the year.
Okay, now, fellow travelers. It’s your turn. What have you learned along the way?
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A year ago (or longer) on This Journey…
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Webbie Activism #3 - Helping people be self-sufficient through Heifer International 2007
can’t sleep 2007
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A year ago (or longer) on This Journey…
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Webbie Activism #3 - Helping people be self-sufficient through Heifer International 2007
can’t sleep 2007
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A year ago (or longer) on This Journey…
November 28th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Heh. We’re in year six of being Midwestern transplants in Northwest rural Georgia. I hear you on being an outsider. I’ve absorbed the use of sugar as an endearment, but I’m still resistant to “bless your heart.” It’s definitely a passive aggressive put down.
I’ve also learned that mentioning that two minute prayers before school events is excessive will get one blackballed at the elementary school.
DCups last blog post..Back and Better Than Ever!
November 29th, 2008 at 7:10 am
I almost forgot! “GO, ‘PACK!”
renns last blog post..Memories…