Raising a Southern Belle

Shelby was "scolding" us tonight and said, "No ma'am!"* It was classic.

Scott and I were born and raised in Cleveland, OH and Rockford, IL, respectively. First generation immigrants to Florida, if you will. Our daughter, however, was born here in Jacksonville, FL. She is a native Southerner and Floridian. Are we Floridians by proxy?...some provision of the 14th amendment? Oh my. Is Shelby our "anchor baby" to get us accepted into our adopted culture?

My grandma was the child of first generation immigrants from Sicily. She used to tell us how she was the translator between her family and the non-Sicilian community. Her mother wanted to buy a colander and could only explain it as "pasta stay, water go." Pretty clever, but you can see her need for a translator. From all accounts, my great-grandma lived in this country for 60 years and still needed a translator most of the time!

Every time I strain my pasta, I remember her story and smile!




*For the Yankees in the readership, that translates to "I don't think so! Please stop that behavior at once!"