Five Reasons I Love Being Southern

Driving to my aunt’s house for Thanksgiving lunch, the unseasonably warm temperatures were already getting to my 4- and 5-year-old boys. As I lowered the temperature in the van and the A/C switched on, my husband shook his head and sighed. “I give it an hour before one of our boys takes his shirt off.”

I laughed because he was right; my kids are always disrobing at the first sign of heat. It’s no big deal at home, but when you’re heading to a holiday meal with family you only see once a year, things are a little different. Even though our family gatherings are anything but formal, we still try to put our best foot forward – the kids get their hair cut right before our trip; I only pack matching clothes so they’re forced to look decent; everyone gets a lecture about sharing and using good manners.

Still, I wasn’t too worried about the impending shirt removal(s). I smiled at my Chicago-born husband and assured him it would be fine: “We’re in Mississippi, hon.”

See, that’s one of the beautiful things about being Southern: you’re always at home here. The half-naked kid playing in the dirt might be a caricature of rednecks, but the truth is we just don’t put on airs for folks. We make ourselves at home, and Southern hosts would be offended by anything else. When you’re here, you’re family.

In honor of my son who actually made it almost two hours before removing his shirt at our family Thanksgiving – and all the aunts and uncles and cousins who never batted an eye – I give you 5 reasons I love being Southern:

1. Everyone is welcome. It never fails that whenever I go home for Thanksgiving, there are at least a half dozen people there I don’t recognize. They might be somebody’s new girlfriend or work buddy who just got divorced or elderly church lady whose family can’t make it in to visit – or maybe we’re related, who knows? – when you’re in a Southern home, you’re part of the family.
2. We have a village to raise our children. You’ve heard the old saying that it takes a village to raise a child, and here in the South we know it’s true. So we take it to heart and help each other out. My Yankee husband was worried about keeping up with all four of our kids in the mix of 50+ people running around my aunt’s house last week, but I sure wasn’t. If a kid does something they’re not supposed to, whatever adult is nearby will put a stop to it. If a kid gets hurt, whoever hears her cries will tend to her. If a kid tries to eat an entire pumpkin pie by himself… well, someone will make sure he has whipped cream to go on top.
3. We say what we mean and mean what we say. Go ahead and ask a Southerner for her opinion on something, anything. From U.S. foreign policy to the wardrobe of that lady from Bible Study Fellowship, Southerners aren’t afraid to tell it like it is. Tact might not be our strongest suit, but at least you don’t have to wonder where we stand.
4. Speaking of which, we have the best idioms. Southerners sure do say what they mean, but sometimes it takes some work to decipher our bizarre idioms. Describing your mother-in-law as “a real peach” does not actually mean she’s sweet and fuzzy (I mean, I guess she could be fuzzy…), comparing your coworker to “a dog that won’t hunt” is not going to help his performance review, and you best run when your mama is “madder than a wet hen.”  We just hope you know what we really mean when we “bless your heart.”
5. Hospitality is a way of life. We’re known ’round these parts for being friendly, and it’s even a bit unnerving to transplants from other parts of the country. No, we’re not being creepy; we were just raised to care about other people. In the South, cashiers at Walmart chat about their kids, men hold doors for women and the elderly, and if we see someone struggling to carry something, we stop what we’re doing to help. Neighbors check in on those who are sick or invalid, casseroles are given for both tragic and joyous occasions, and I know people with trucks who go out during the rare snowfall looking for stranded cars they can help pull out of a ditch. To a Southerner, “community” isn’t a geographical or municipal description; it’s the way we do life together, family, friends, and strangers alike.

If you’re not from the South, I hope you’ve learned to love it here. And if you’re a native, I hope you take pride in your heritage. I can’t guarantee I will always live in these here hills, but I’ll forever love this region and be proud to be Southerner. And I mean it with my whole heart when I sing, “Rocky Top, you’ll always be home sweet home to me.”

Do you love your regional heritage? Where are you from? Why do you love it?
Share in the comments what makes home great to you!