song of the south

i found myself settling into bed early last night (a first for me in weeks) and so i picked up my first issue of Bon Appetit (courtesy of Allison Beale) because,
a: i am pretty behind on all my glossy readings so it's time to get on it, and
b: that fried chicken on the cover looked exceptionally delicious.

i knew i was excited for the monthly access to this mag that my sister supplied me this holiday and i knew i was going to be bombarded with a book of recipes that would quickly climb up my "to cook ASAP" list (coconut cake, hoppin' john, said fried chicken...). but what i didn't know and for sure least expected, was that this single issue, praising the south in all it's...well...southern glory - primarily food, was going to make me miss that place pretty dang bad.

i found myself reading about recipes and restaurants out loud to e until he begged me to turn out the light and fall asleep. and as i lay in the dark, confessions of a longing for that warm place so many states down crept into my mind. longing for my home, my heart, my roots.

i thought about the turn our lives have taken - for the best and with our control - and i thought about how my love for new england has grown more than i ever knew it would (or could). but for the first time, in a long time, i thought about how i missed some southern ground. i can learn to fry my chicken, add extra cheese to my mac, whip up some collards, biscuits and sweet tea, and i can keep a bottle of texas pete in my pantry. i can don some seersucker, skip around barefoot in the summer and take down a couple of mint juleps. but all that is just a substitution to what real, day-to-day living is like in the south. it's front porches and humidity. bourbon and bojangles. everything's a little sweeter and a whole lot slower. we're more belk and less bloomingdales; more yawning, less yoga. down there they talk to strangers, go to church and greet everyone with a hug instead of a handshake. i could go on about all the southern-isms that i'm happily welcomed with each time i return home.

i eventually fell asleep last night. and when i woke up this morning with some extra rest i felt like a new women - but with the same southern perspective which i know no amount of time away from my home sweet home can change.