Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Today was another long day of house hunting. Didn't see quite as much as the last two days, partly because we got a late start, and partly because there just isn't much more out there - we saw most of it the first two days. So, we're down to actually viewing houses, talking with realtors, and trying to make decisions.


It's tough. Tempers are starting to flare a bit, and there are so many little things playing in on everyone. While moving nearer to family is a good thing, getting used to togetherness and finding how we're all going to make it work without driving each other insane is going to take a bit of getting used to. We'll get there, though, and it will work out so well in the long run, I know. I'm actually looking forward to the togetherness, and the ability to help each other out when need be. I've always been very family-oriented, especially after my upbringing.


I was raised within miles of all my Daddy's family. It was nothing for everyone to be at Granny & Papa's on Saturday or Sunday, just because. People showing up just to visit was normal, too. Sure, most days I say how I don't want that, and how much I value my privacy, but at the same time, I miss it a bit too. It was so awesome as a kid, having that ability to be so close to cousins that they were more like siblings. I wish that for my kids (though there are currently no cousins for them to have that with...). I was raised in a family where, if someone was sick or hurt, there was always someone else there to help out when and where it was needed. To be able to be a part of that again is something I'm longing for.


Then there's being back in The South. Yeah, yeah, some of you are going to claim that I've been living in the south for the past ten years. And, geographically speaking, I have been. Culturally, though, Florida is not, for the most part, The South. Believe me. Yes, there are pockets of Southerners in Florida (Hi, Polk County!), but as a whole, Florida is not Southern. Louisiana, however, most assuredly is. If I had any doubts, talking with Blanche, one of the Realtors we met with today, laid them to rest. I found my accent returning, my gentility itching to come out. I heard myself utter, "Oh, my!" and "Sake's alive!" more than once today. I could feel my Granny speaking through me, and at one point I even trotted out her old zinger of, "Well shitfire and damnation!" (that was reserved for only the most dire of situations, as that is the most I ever heard her curse, rest her soul!).


Yes, this Southern Girl is back in her element of soil and sweat and summer porches, and my, is it ever a fine place to be! I've felt out of sorts with myself for a few months now, and told Hans that I thought I needed to be back in The South, and it looks like The Universe heard me. I never thought I would be so happy to be surrounded by accents in my life.


Now to just find a damned house to live in!