I am a Southerner

I was raised by Southern parents. (VERY Southern, Front Royal, VA)

  I was brought up listening to and learning all southern ways. (think Steel Magnolias) Herein lies my dilemma.  

All of "our" ways here in the South are motivated either by teachings from Bible, or teachings from Ms. Manners.  Sometimes those seems to be conflicting, and in a big way.  I am big on manners, BIG.  And I am big on being lady like.  I had a wonderful example in my mother.  But the older I get, the more I have to sort out in this category.

For example:  there is a lesson in the Bible that says you must keep your house in order.  I'm BIG TIME paraphrasing here, but (and this is not the figuratively speaking part) it means if anyone comes to your home, it should ALWAYS be fit to receive a guest (most importantly, the preacher on Sunday should he decide to pop in for a visit).  On the Ms. Manners side of this, you should always have something to serve - sweet tea/lemonade, cookies/pie/fried food, etc.-all homemade, of course.  When you work crazy long hours like most people are forced to do these days, Sunday might actually be the ONLY day you have to tidy up your home and put it in order so that you might receive those guests.  HOWEVER, according to Southern law AND the Bible, you are not to lift a finger to work on Sunday. Although that doesn't seem to apply to Sunday lunch/dinner that the family momma is responsible for preparing.   There is even a tale my momma used to tell me that if you chose to sew on Sunday you would be forced to pick out every stitch with your nose on Monday!  I always felt like it was a hex, and I hate ripping seams out, so it was enough to keep me from sewing!! Thanks, Momma.

Anyway, most of my adult life I have been forced to clean the house on Sunday, because I've always worked a lot and spent a lot of years being a single mom.    Yesterday I realized what a confusing thing it is to be a Southerner.  (took me while ...)

So next I am trying to figure out if I am condemned to hell in a sewing basket with a vacuum cleaner or what!  Do you ever have these conundrums in your life? Tomorrow we will be back to art.  Thank goodness something I understand.

 Blessings,