Introducing Our Daughter to a Great Yankee Tradition: Pie for Breakfast

We just spent a couple of weeks on vacation, visiting family and friends on the east coast. While serving my daughter a slice of blueberry pie for breakfast, I was reminded of E.B. White's definition of the word Yankee:

"To foreigners, a Yankee is an American.

To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner.

To Northerners, a Yankee is a New Englander.

To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter.

And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast."

When I first moved to England, it felt strange being referred to as a "Yankee." My family is from the south. I grew up in Florida. Over time I've come to accept the label even though it's not always used with affection. But I still don't apply it to myself, except where eating pie for breakfast is concerned. You don't have to be a real Yankee to know a good thing when you see it.