Today as the girls and I drove around here and there running errands, I was reminded once again that even though I still do not consider “the ATL” to be my home, “Atlanta” very much is our home. We moved to Georgia when Camille was only a few months old, and Chloe was born here. To them, this is the only home (place) they’ve ever known.
Despite my protests about being a southern citizen, I know the shortcuts. I know what lane to be in (for various reasons, that’s very important to me.). I even call various places by the name of the store that used to be there. Or was there before the store that was there before the store that is there now.
We’ve moved three times since we’ve moved here, but have never left this crazy county. We’ve lived in two very different cities. Our friends from different places overlap. The girls notice various places as we wander around and reminisce about earlier days.
As a child, I had always imagined myself as settling down in a small town in New England. Living out my days in the “Spirit of America”. Yet here we are, finding our way in the deep south, while I’m still not ready to admit that we are in fact “Southerners”.
It took me a long time to assimilate, and while there are days when I still don’t feel like I really fit in, I have come to terms with it being my home. When I first moved here in 1977 I was outright hostile about moving into the South from the North in suburban Michigan. It wasn’t until I got out of my parent’s house and started meeting people intown that I realized what a wonderful city Atlanta was, full of intelligent, funky, international people.
One of my new friends at the time who is now my oldest continuous friend gave me a book called “Southern Ladies and Gentlemen” by Florence King while I was still very much a Yankee Girl in a Southern Court. Mrs. King was a journalist in the 50’s and 60’s and writes a very witty account of the various stereotypes one finds living here. It was an incredibly useful primer for the people I was going to have to learn to deal with, and I have recommended it to others many times.
So I understand your feelings completely, and I’m glad you are starting to feel like this is your place too. 🙂
Christy