Amen.

 "Southern women know how to bake a funeral casserole and why you should. Southern women know how to make other women feel pretty. Southern women like men and allow them to stay men. Southern women are not afraid to dance. Southern women know you can’t outrun your past, that manners count, and that your mother deserves a phone call every Sunday. Southern women can say more with a cut of their eyes than a whole debate club’s worth of speeches. Southern women know the value of a stiff drink, among other things."

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Virginia is a tricky state. Yes, we are below the Mason-Dixon line. Yes, I live in the capitol of the Confederacy. Yes, our men like to hunt, fish, and go to every sporting even known to mankind. Yes, football is like a religion around here (Come on though, Hokies....can't we get a bowl win next year?). However, less than one hour up 95 (every Virginian's personal hell), our Southern state seems completely transformed.  Less ya'll's, less friendly conversations with complete strangers, less interest in the NASCAR races that visit our hometown twice a year, different languages, and at times, complete rudeness. It is almost as if there were an invisible line that runs somewhere right north of Ashland where people and cultures completely change.  Don't get me wrong...I love DC and the surrounding areas. They are so full of culture, history, and I'm never prouder to be an American than when I'm wandering the streets checking out the monuments. And let's be honest, there is nothing better than hitting the streets of Georgetown for shopping, dining, and of course Georgetown Cupcakes (DC Cupcakes, duh).  

The world above that invisible line though just doesn't fit me. I can appreciate it, but by the grace of God and my born-and-raised-in-the-deep-south mother, I was raised to fit the quote above.  I appreciate the fact that manners are like a religion around here.  I love the fact that I can depend on my friends and neighbors to come through in a time of need.  I love the word y'all. I love that invisible line that keeps the snow up in DC and away from here.  I love the respect that people show one another down here (most of the time).  I love getting a smile from a complete stranger just because.  I love the style and grace that comes with being a girl raised below the Mason-Dixon line.  And Lord have mercy, we know how to dance.  

And about the value of a stiff drink? We know that's the only way we can get our men to dance.


XO,
BG