terms of endearment

this weekend i accompanied phileena to nebraska furniture mart. she and chris were purchasing their first new bed! as we found our way into this enormous store, kelly, a mattress extraordinaire, found us. her greeting to us included the word 'sis.'

sis? interesting. i don't remember seeing you at any family reunions.

so it got me thinking. growing up in the south, i wouldn't find it that uncommon to hear older women using various terms of endearment to the younger people...terms such as sugar, honey, baby, love. you get my drift. kenley and i call each other baby. i hear other couples refer to each other as baby. my parents. daphne and caleb. chris and phileena. the list could go on.

but lately i've heard other people refer to each other with these terms of endearment. in emails and conversations words such as baby, honey, sugar, yeah yeah yeah are being exchanged. and i sort of feel funny. i like when my family and loved ones refer to me as baby, sweet pea, baby girl ad the like. but when those words are used when i'm ordering coffee, buying shoes, working out, hanging out...and they are being said by people not in the family and loved one category, AND i'm not in the south, it's a little weird.

i do love that when kenley calls me baby my heart skips a beat. and when my dad or mom call me sweet pea, i can't help but smile. and at the end of the day, i miss the sweetness of the south and the sweet greetings.