My Mississippi Day

Last week, a dear, treasured friend of mine lost her daddy, who had been sick a very long time. This gave me occasion to up and run to Mississippi for a couple of days to attend his visitation and funeral. Y’all, it was absolutely the sweetest time with this dear family. It was a time of rejoicing and celebrating his life, along with a few tears of sadness. His sweet girls both participated in the service, which was a joy to see. Mr. Jackson’s oldest daughter, Amy, sang the most angelic version of There Is A Savior  you would ever want to hear. And how special that she was able to sing it for her daddy. My friend and his youngest daughter, Carol Anne, shared the sweetest, funniest, most precious stories about her daddy. He was in the Army and fought in one of the wars, so his casket was draped with an American flag. A bugler played Taps and Mrs. Jackson was presented with the flag, which is one of the most moving acts our country provides for our soldiers. I went with my friends Melinda and Enley, both of whom were in our Bible study when Carol Anne was our beloved teacher. We all laughed and cried and thought it was just the most precious celebration of life we have ever been a part of.

Because I was in Mississippi for a couple of days, I got to spend time with my dear friends and family. I met a group of girlfriends for birthday breakfast for my friend Enley. Her girlfriends all chipped in and bought her the most gorgeous Coach purse. She was super-dee-duper delighted. Can you blame her? That thing was like butter. She better not put it down and turn her head in my presence or it might get snatched!

While we were eating breakfast and chatting (more chatting than eating!!), guess who I met?!? After following her blog and reading her fabulous magazine 393 Magazine for forever, I finally got to meet Joy! And she’s just as sweet and darling in person as she seems!

After the morning events, we went on a little field trip. Jonathan’s grandfather was raised on a farm. Growing his own food is something he has done his entire life. Even though his main line of work was owning and operating a propane gas business for 50+ years, he has almost always had a garden on the side. He believes, and I totally agree, that the vegetables and fruits he grows taste better than what can be purchased in the grocery. Over the years, we have been the grateful recipients of the fruit of Papaw’s labors. My freezer is almost always stocked with Papaw’s tomatoes, peas, squash, okra, and corn. We usually get enough each summer to carry us through the winter months, still being able to enjoy good food.

I said on facebook the other day that these days, we call this process organic gardening and pay a premium for it. But Papaw scoffs at that because he’s just growing the same food the same way he has for 89 years. And it’s true! Well, except for that 89 years part – Papaw is actually 90! Gardening is one of the things that has kept him active for all these years, and as a result, he is able to keep up with men half his age.

I took Mary Anneliese by Papaw’s garden while we were in Mississippi so that she could pick a few vegetables herself. Of course, she loved seeing Papaw “in his element”, and I loved taking pictures of the two of them together.

One of our last stops was to see our friends the Monsours. They welcomed baby Stelynn two weeks ago, and I had to get my hands on her. Mary Anneliese and Hays have been friends longer than either of them can remember. They were so glad to see each other, and it was cute to see Hays show off his baby sister.

I love it when a spontaneous trip turns into such a fantastic day! It was such fun to be back in our old hangouts with our dear friends-for-life.