Reconnecting

All my life, I have fought with the fact that I'm from Kentucky. I've met every single stereotypical comment there is, most of which came from the very cultural, open residents of the great state of California...(note the sarcasm?)

A few have included: 

So, do you really go barefoot all the time? 

Do people there drive cars? 

Do you have color tv? 

When people in other states meet me, they often say things like: 

Wow, you don't talk like you're from Kentucky.

I would never have guessed you're from Kentucky.

For much of my life, I have tried to rid myself of the soft, long vowels. I tried (and succeeded) in talking more like the nondescript accents of the news people on television. However, as I get older, I've come to appreciate my roots. I actually LIKE being affiliated with the beautiful state of Kentucky. It really is absolutely beautiful. 

Nowhere else have I seen land that changes within a 30 minute drive. Nowhere else have I heard various accents in a day's drive. It's pretty amazing. 

So I live in Ohio now and even though I can still see the banks of Kentucky from where I live, simply being away from it has helped to develop my appreciation for it. I'm NOT talking about the northern part, which is more Ohio than any other part of the state. I'm talking about the REAL Kentucky...the wild, relaxed, unchained, au natural part of Kentucky, where people are not separated from the land, but rather an important, functioning part of it. 

It is that part of Kentucky that I appreciate and that I want to hold on to for the rest of my days. 

This pregnancy has made me come to terms with a lot of things in my life...well, not necessarily just the pregnancy; maybe all the changes I've gone through in the last year, but the pregnancy is a MAJOR change this year that has made me think about what matters to me. I've realized that I enjoy the city, but I don't love it. I'm not connected to it in anyway and in fact, I feel somewhat stifled by it. I do LOVE the museums, the zoo, the fact that Kings Island is a 10 minute drive from my house, there are amazing restaurants a few minutes away, I love the lights and the skyline...I do enjoy the city very much. I think I always want to be near it. 

However, there is another side of me...and she loves the countryside. Now this is a love I feel deep within myself. I love Mother Earth and I've been separated from her for far too long. I long to return to the countryside where I can have my hands in the soil much more often. I long for the canopy of trees and the cool quiet of a country morning. 

My sons got to experience this when we lived in the cabin. It was a very primitive way of life and one that I think had a great effect on them as young men. I know they look back on that time fondly, even though we had no running water...We had electric, but most of our light came from oil lamps. If we needed to bathe, we went to the house in town (it's not like we were completely without necessities), but sometimes we just jumped in the creek. We lived like pioneers in a cabin that was built in 1790. It was hard. I had to chop wood in winter for the fireplace (our only means of heat) and in summer, we felt whatever temps Mother Nature sent our way, but it was amazing. 

For so long, I thought that was one of those life experiences you can never relive. I thought it was THE cabin that made it such a magical, memorable time, but now I know that's not true at all. This weekend we visited kevin's granny and papaw's house to spend time in the country away from the city. I woke up at 6:30 one morning and the magic was there. It was all around me. The very air reverberated with the titillating vibe of the country. I realized the magic was not in a cabin built by man, but in the land, the trees, the very air of the earth. I felt alive again like I haven't in a very long time. 

I want this feeling for my daughter. I want her to appreciate the city, because it is wonderful in its own way, but I want her to really know and love the land. Without the earth, we would not exist. This is a fact I never want her to take for granted. I also don't want her to end up like some of my students who life in the city, who really believe the grocery provides their food...not the animals or plants of earth. It's sad. It's so sad to me that we are so disconnected from the Great Mother. 

This pregnancy has also developed my interest in Southern traditions. For example, I've been thinking about having a "meet the baby" party after Kathryn is born. Say, when she's about a month old or so. I just found out that there is already a tradition of this in the South and it's called a "sip n see." The tradition is to have tea, coffee or punch for people to sip, and a few appetizers for snacking while visiting the baby. I think I want to do this. Sure, this is more of a "true south" tradition, not a Kentucky tradition, but I want to do it. It will be a great way to welcome my little girl into the world.