Ever since the first date I've been very upfront with Bill about the fact that I was raised in the country and my family are very much "hicks". We aren't fancy, we don't do fancy jobs, we are happy with very little in life.
It kind of tickled him to find this out. He pokes fun at me every now and then when a "hick-ism" pops up in my behavior or speech. I laugh along because my heritage is something I'm proud of, and if it makes someone laugh, all the better. I admit that I still run into situations where I'm pretty awestruck by something I see and probably let my mouth hang open.
This past weekend when we were up north it was my turn to laugh. I had warned Bill that my gramma lived in the very smallest of towns. He was still shocked to find no restaurants there and only marginal ones in the "big town" up the road. He seemed almost afraid to interact with the locals, which made me chuckle. The fact that the caregiver and her sister were sipping tea from mason jars was so remarkable he mentioned it several times. I hadn't noticed.
He was unable to appreciate the fact that my gramma split her last cord of firewood at 70 years old. I don't think he really knows what splitting firewood involves. He was shocked that they still heat the house with a wood burning stove, and sometimes cook on it. Last time we stayed at a B&B with a fireplace he nearly lit our room on fire trying to start a fire in the fireplace.
When I'm very tired I will often slur my words or use slang that I picked up as a child. Most of which is not commonly heard in a population as large as the cities he grew up on. I will poke fun at him when he doesn't understand a slang word, calling him a city slicker or a pretty boy.
Do you ever stand out in the crowd due to your upbringing?
