Southern Slang

When I was 12 my parents moved the family from Texas to Maine. We were in culture shock to say the least. I was a very shy little girl and the last thing I wanted was more attention for the way I talked. My teacher would call on me for EVERYTHING just to hear me talk. I guess I had the southern drawl thing going on pretty thick back then. I didn't like the attention so I consciously made an attempt to lose the southern way of talking. Now that I live here I wish I had kept it. Now I can't use all those southern terms without feeling self conscious. The one I don't use and feel the weirdest about is Y'all. I want to use it, I even practice using it - but I never do. The next best thing is for my son to use it - and this weekend he used it for the first time. I was so proud. He was outside playing with 2 friends (you have to be addressing more than 2 people to correctly use it) and he said, and I quote "Y'all come over here and hit that ball". Tears welled up and I was filled with hope. Hope that someday our house will be filled with southern slang.