I took Kevin down to South Carolina for Christmas break. I consider it break since my fabulous employer gave us paid leave between Christmas Eve and NYD. It's like school all over again and I'm just as giddy!
Tut of course did not make the trip. The dog absolutely freaks for any time he is in a moving car. Even after 2 hours, he'll still be whining. He stayed with Aunt Cassandra in the old Eastern Market house. Just as well, I think he likes being near the Marine Barracks, notably the marines. (When they marched down the street he thinks they are calling out to him - "Hut!")
Kev and I made the 8 hour drive down to Greenville, SC in record time. We listened to books on tape to make the drive go by faster, also because we are practicing for retirement. Spy novels! Seriously though, if we had to listen to Christmas songs or Top 40 radio I may not have made it south of Durham, NC.
In one of the lulls between the audio book we were listening to I tried to explain the intricacies of southern slang and insults. Country, I explained, is what you call someone who is truly twangy and/or tacky. It's the new Redneck - since redneck became so mainstream. Everyone back home ironically self identifies as a redneck. I attribute this to Jeff Foxworthy. I grew up being told by my parents that we were Hillbillies turned Rednecks (SC by way of WV). No, Dad, please stop.
You see my boyfriend hails from The Los Angeles, CA and finds the sub-culture I grew up in quite fascinating. Prior to meeting me he had only ever visited the southern cities of Charleston (for a wedding) and New Orleans (for work and several bachelor parties) hardly anything to shake a stick at. I take any chance I get to acquaint him with the truly country - only funny because my family is slowly becoming more southern as the years go by. I don't have an accent and neither did any of my family members up until I left for college. Somewhere in the past 5 years everyone else became country music fans and started speaking with a drawl. That is until I've been there a few days, and I start speaking a little more slowly - or so Kevin tells me. Y'all, I can't even.
There's something about going home that really makes me miss all the open spaces and the slower pace. It's the change of priorities that stand out the most. Good and bad. At the end of the day though, I know deep down that moving back would never work out. But, it's good to get back to recalibrate. What else are family and friends here for than to remind you where you came from?
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| White Elephant with my Dad's side of the family. |
Through all the dinners and family gatherings it was wonderful seeing the man-friend get to know my family and friends better. We got to stay with my bff from high school, Evangeline (Shug) and her boyfriend, which is basically the best present ever. The guys like to say that when we get together we become the same person - which is basically us talking with creepy accents that the guys still find adorable. Oh and they got us Christmas socks! Awesome.
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| Bear socks for bare feet. Sorry I'm not sorry. |
* Updated: I can't believe I forgot to mention that Kevin had to attend the only Catholic mass available to him on Christmas day - in Polish. Who'd guess that there was such a high demand for that? Wesołych Świąt! *
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