Sweet Georgia!

Sweet Georgia! I love being back in the South. Here in Zebulon life really is slower…a lot slower than in Riyadh (I honked at someone today because they weren’t going fast enough after the light turned green..Dad said “Timmie slow down and enjoy life.”). I love Riyadh but it has a nervous go go energy that never stops and I needed to stop for a little while.
I love seeing all the green…grass…trees. I can’t believe how green it is here or maybe it’s not really that green and I’m just used to seeing desert.
The accents are so awesome here. I love a good Southern accent. It’s soft and falls on your ears gently. It doesn’t hurt to listen to a Southern accent like it does to listen to other accents (some of those accents from the North…ouch!).
I love the food. Southerners have this connection to food. Food means money. Food is to be shared. Food is to be enjoyed and eaten and eaten and eaten…if you gain some weight so what.
I love Southern writers and how they express themselves in a way no other section in the US can or does. When I read a Southern writer…especially from Georgia..I fell like I’m listening to old friends and family…everything is familiar.
I love driving the country roads here. The roads seem to go on forever and are lined with trees and kudzu. The trees and kudzu have a thin layer of red Georgia dust on them. And when you’re driving down the back roads you look in the rearview mirror and see all the dust you’ve stirred up….I love doing that.
I love seeing my Dad and seeing that he’s looking well. I love that he loves Timmie and Timmie loves him. I’m also glad to see my step-Mother. I love the eccentricities that comes from their house..but then what good Southerner doesn’t have eccentricities.
I love seeing my Grandmother who is 99. I don’t think she knows me..but she’s so sweet that it doesn’t matter. I do miss the stories she used to tell us about her youth and I miss her cooking…but at least she’s still here. Grandma still has a twinkle in her eye and she still wants to be involved and loved.
I love seeing and visiting with my quirky sweet little sister. Is it quirky or eccentric..who cares. She’s never dull. She’s always full of stories that center around her (but then Laurie tells me that all my stories center around me). My little sister is also full of love and never tells you that you’ve gotten fat or old…she takes you for who you are. She really is a sweet sister and I’ve missed seeing her.
Ahh…Georgia…I’ve missed you!