Affection for the past . . .

B elieve it or not
L ife's
O bstactles
G et in the way

That is what I keep telling myself, every time I realize I have not updated this blog.

This morning I was reading an article in Garden & Gun, there was a beautiful old creole country house, the writer wrote "learning to operate modern technology is not the problem, it's what you would have to sacrifice on the path of ease and convenience", and went on to say "forgoing certain creature comforts simply nourishes his roots" which is very interesting and I love the thought.

I have always had a hard time explaining my reason for not wanting a dishwasher. I however, never realized the complex reasoning behind getting one removed, the story of which I will save for another time. The quote which has struck me this morning is from the owner of the home, "History," he says, "is both a burden and a glory for Southerners. Our affection for the past and our complex relationship to it survive in our living habits." As I pick the dirt out of my nails (pulling sand spur this morning), I also realize the great appreciation I have for roots that grow deep in this Florida dirt. It's the reason I love to wash dishes by hand, hang out the laundry, and feed the chickens. It is the history of an old house around me, that encourage my roots to take hold and stretch deep into the past, it is the memory of an old skinnin barn in Yemassee, or a day spent in the old kitchen at Bell. The roots of my history fill each object I hold dear, Granny's artwork or Everett's woodwork, Irving's reading rod and Nanny's garlic press.

The deep southern history in my roots survive not only in the object and memories, but entrenched in life's everyday habits. I think for now the glory, outweighs the burdens in this Southern girl's life.