Ya'll and Such

I have lived in the South for 16 years now and have been proud to say that I have never used the grammatically incorrect Ya'll...until today. I was talking with a handyman who was at my house fixing a few things and somehow in the course of our conversation it came out. As a matter of fact, I heard myself sound fairly "Southern" during our little chat. Lengthening my vowels, putting emphasis on different syllables...and when I think of it, I find myself changing my accent unknowingly depending on to whom I am talking with.

I have always assumed my kids would sound like a Midwesterner because...why wouldn't they? I listen to them closely sometimes when they say certain things and I don't catch much Southernese yet...would that be a bad thing? (no offense meant to my Southern friends)
Not really and many would assume as they are being raised in the South, they would sound as such. But there is something in me that has been very closed to the idea of "giving in" to the accent as that could lead to full blown "Bless Your Heart" and giving my children somebody's last name as their first name and converting to Baptist.

But today for some reason I did not recoil as I heard myself say Ya'll and I don't think I would wash my kids' mouths out with soap if I heard it come from them. I guess my old age is mellowing me into a Southern Something (disgruntled Belle at best).