I think I’m becoming a country girl

I grew up in the city in Florida.  We lived in a house with a regular yard.  No farm animals, no vegetable garden (though we did have orange trees).  I listened to New Kids on the Block and other bubblegum pop music.  I was far from a country girl.

Somehow, in the past year, I have started to slowly morph into a person I don’t recognize.  I am becoming a country girl.  Let me share the symptoms of this metamorphosis:

1.  I have a mud room because I actually need one.  Everyone in the house has their indoor and outdoor shoes.  If you accidentally wear your outdoor shoes indoors…you will either track mud through the house or goat heads.  Did you know that when you step on a goat head with bare feet, you can see pain?

2.  I’ve started saying ya’ll.  Seriously…..I don’t know why this has started.  We are not in the South, we don’t say ya’ll in Colorado.  But, whenever I call the kids in for dinner…somehow it comes out “Ya’ll come in for dinner!”

3.  I wear boots because they are functional footwear….not because they are a fashion statement.  Boots keep the mud (see #1), animal poo, and goat heads at bay.  They protect your feet when you are working outside, slip off and on easily, and clean up quickly.  I do have a couple fancy pairs for nights on the town.

4.  I read the Fencepost.  The Fencepost is a regional agricultural magazine with interesting articles on things like beef production, crop quality, and tractors!  Again….not sure why I find this fascinating, but I do.

5.  I love the smell of the barn.  The smell of the ancient cow poo, old hay, and old wood is divine.  I wonder if Febreeze has considered making “barn fresh” as a scent?

6.  Hubby has been listening to country forever, so I would occasionally be forced to listen to it when he was in the car.  I’ve always hated country music…..but lately….I’ve found myself switching the radio to country music when he’s not in the car!  I even know some of the words!  What’s happening to me???

7.  Workouts consist of chasing roosters and climbing scaffold, not treadmills and elliptical machines.  Not that I really worked before, but I would assume most people in town aren’t chasing chickens.

8.  I own Wrangler jeans.  Not only do I own Wrangler jeans….I own 3 pairs of Wrangler jeans.  Why?  Because, like boots, they are functional.  They don’t slide off my hips and show my butt crack when I’m working, they fit around my boots, they last.  I do, however, refuse to own Rockies jeans.  I need pockets on my butt.

9.  I’ve mastered the two finger wave.  This is the way country folk wave when passing each other in the car.  Two fingers up off the steering wheel.  “Hey ya’ll!”

10.  I love our tractor.  It brings me so much happiness.  Nothing is better than being told I need to drive the tractor all day to help move trash.

11.  The rooster crow that wakes me up in the morning is not a fancy alarm tone on my phone…..it’s the real deal.

12.  I made home made jam…..out of dandelions.  Um….yeah…

It’s weird, it’s not how I grew up, but it feels right.