Delta Heart A-Callin'

After working everyday for a solid ten days I finally got a break.  I had this weekend off and it was oh-so-glorious.  I decided the only way I wanted to spend the break was in the Mississippi Delta. 

I traveled Friday with Mother to her small hometown.  A blip on the map but a place full of incredible stories and childhood memories (hers and mine).  This trip I really drank in every aspect of my trip, taking mental pictures at every turn knowing it would be a while before I return.

After you get off I-55 you spend the rest of your trip on two lane roads.  Some might consider this misery, especially if you get stuck behind a slow car and are unable to pass for a while, but this time I wanted to go slow.  When you hit the Delta you are surrounded by perfect rows of corn, cotton, beans, even sunflowers- depending on the season.  The land in so flat you can see for miles.  You can literally see all the way to where the sky meets the ground.

Driving into town we pass the building that is my grandparents former store.  It burned ten or so years ago.  It really felt like we lost a family member that day.  As a child I: played with the mannequins, played all up in the store windows, tried on "fancy dresses" and big beautiful hats that came with hat boxes, made bows on a manual bow machine, played on Papa's typewriter, "sold" clothes, looked cute, hid in clothes racks, tried on shoes, bought clothes from the boy side, played in the jewelry case, sat on the counters and "visited", sat in Papa's chair (when he wasn't looking), ran wild, climbed up and down the rolling ladders, played hide and seek, and really who knows what else.  I just know we ALWAYS wanted to be up there.  We would stay all day long.  It was just plain f-u-n.      

Turning off Hayden Street we headed to Mimi's.  When we arrived we stepped out of the car and immediately started to melt.  I don't know what it is about the Delta but the heat index is comparable to that of the sun.

We walked inside that big white house.  The one with the welcoming front porch with the swing hanging on the left side of the house.  Mimi always greets you at the door and at that same time the smell of homemade bread overwhelms your senses.  The house itself is a piece of history.  A Sears Roebuck house ordered from a magazine and shipped in.  The interior of the house has the highest ceilings, big chunky white crown molding, and is something like a museum/art gallery/time capsule.  The walls are filled with Mimi's priceless oil canvases, Big Mama's world renowned stitchery, authentic pieces from Lebanon, Mississippi Senate history, and the growth of one large family through pictures. 

You never feel alone inside that house.  It is so alive and like a member of the family.  It watched six children grow up.  They soon brought their spouses and their children in.  And now, even some of the grandchildren have children.  We've all grown up here.  We spent every Christmas- every holiday here.  If you listen carefully you can hear "the women" talking in the living room, the pitter-patter of little feet, deep chuckles around the dinner table.  You can smell home-cooked meals, taste homemade chocolate cake, and feel love all around.  You really can feel it...such peace.

Saturday I got to cook with Mimi.  It really is an art because you don't use measurements.  We made chicken spaghetti and if I am able to duplicate it, it will be a miracle.  We just added ingredients until it felt right.  These are the kinds of memories I will cherish forever.  I hope I can cook like her one day.  There were constant battles in my house because there were certain things I would eat at Mimi's but not for my mom because it "didn't taste like Mimi's". 

I also love "going downtown" or really any place where people (who aren't my family) are.  I feel like  a celebrity every time I go.  I hardly ever know who is who but they know me.  And everyone is so glad to see you.  After this weekend, I feel like every one in the town should know my plans for next year.  I felt so special and so very encouraged.  My extended family.

And while I can't claim to be a "delta girl", I am going to call myself a "delta girl" by extension.  I'm glad I got my fix.  Because my delta heart has been calling.