If you subtract an exciting city like New York, I’ve always felt really lucky that I consider myself a Southerner.

I like the word “y’all” said with a graceful drawl. I like that we know white shoes are worn only between Easter and Labor Day. I like that we consult football schedules before we plan weddings. I like that we can ask you what kind of “Coke” you want–Dr Pepper or Sprite.

I’m not sayin’ there’s anything wrong with those of you who happen to have been born Yankees; I just felt sorry for you that you didn’t get some of the same benefits as we did. I’m sure you have revered traditions, too, that I’m unaware of, so maybe it all evens out.

Now one Southern tradition that we need to maintain, no, re-energize, is the wearing of a posy in your lapel for Mothers Day. I grew up where men and women alike wore a red rose or carnation–most likely snipped that morning from their own backyards–to honor their mothers.

Nothing fancy, just a flower. Red if your mother was living, white if she’d passed on. People in the halls of my church were more likely to be sporting a flower than not. I have a fond memory of my grandpa wearing one in his lapel, and I was so, so, so proud one year when my dad bought red corsages for my mother, my sister and I to wear to church.

Can we start doing this again, y’all?