Keeping My Southern Accent

Even if my accent slightly drifted over my many years away in California, New York, New Jersey, and Italy, I always said “y’all.” Now, at home in North Carolina, it no longer provokes a smile. And once again, the cake is covered with icing, not frosting; there’s dressing with the turkey, not stuffing; and I simply make slaw, not coleslaw. “Caramel” gets its second aback, and I don’t hear the grating “PEE-can” for “puh-KAHN.” When the lemon pie comes to the table, I can ask, “What do this pie and my hand have in common?” And I know my daughter will call out “Mah rang!” Though I won’t take up “that there,” or “this here,” or “might could,” or even “bless