Confessions of A Southern Girl

Since I commented on the whole Yankee/Southern issue yesterday, I thought I would share with you one of my first experiences with my in-laws. They are from New Jersey, but have lived in the South for as long as I have known them.

Deep breath. This one shows my real ignorance! Hope you get a chuckle!

My husband and I were still dating and he asked me to Thanksgiving at his parents' house. I had met his parents, but never visited their home. We traveled there the day before and settled in. They were very cordial and I felt quite welcome.

Thanksgiving morning I woke up and smelled nothing cooking. I walked in the kitchen and there was no smell of boiling butterbeans or giblets on the stove. Puzzled, I thought, "maybe she got a head start yesterday."

We had our breakfast and my husband (then boyfriend) and I went out for a while. When we returned, it was nearly noon and still- there was no activity in the kitchen other than occasionally checking the turkey in the oven.

Then, my husband really blew my mind. He said,"Well, do you want a sandwich or something for lunch?"

See, I grew up always eating Thanksgiving dinner at dinner time- that's lunch time for most of you. Thanksgiving morning, I would wake up at my Granny's house to the smell of vegetables on the stove. She would take a minute to fry me a piece of bacon and make me some toast, then return to the stove to cook dinner. We ate Thanksgiving dinner at exactly 12:00 Noon every- single- year, no exceptions. My PaPa had to work every Thanksgiving day, so Granny and Mama always had the meal on the table, ready for PaPa to come in and eat.

I knew that other people didn't have to work on Thanksgiving. But I thought that everyone ate their Thanksgiving dinner at dinner time- lunch. I had no idea that people ate their dinner at supper time, or in between dinner and supper time. So, you can imagine my shock when my husband (then boyfriend) offers me a sandwich for dinner!

"When are we gonna eat????" I didn't really say it. (Mama raised me right.) But I was thinking it. Eventually I figured it all out and realized they had their Thanksgiving meal later in the day. And, I have to say, we didn't have butterbeans or peas, but it was very good. It was my first time eating creamed onions and "stuffing" instead of dressing.

And, if I remember correctly, the sandwich I had for dinner was pretty good, too. ;>)