May 20, 2020. Madison, Mississippi. My Good Neighbor.

Yesterday, my across the street neighbor Donna and her Mother came over for coffee. Donna does many kind deeds for me but we never have actually sat down and talked so I invited her for coffee. I invited her last week and settled on Tuesday. Monday her Mother drove down from her home close to Oxford in Mississippi, specifically to celebrate her two grandchildren, who were born on the same day four years apart. There was no chance for a birthday party but they arranged a drive by celebration, with lots of honking and hooraying. When Donna texted me to say we needed to reschedule, I suggested that her Mother might enjoy joining us. And she did. So we three enjoyed a couple of hours together which I think we all enjoyed. The Mothers name is Maria, but because the first grandchild could not say Maria, he called her Murray, and it stuck. Now everyone calls her Murray. Marie's Mother was a war bride. She was French and married an American soldier . After the way she joined her new husband in Mississippi, to a small town called Sartoris. The grandmother was from a wealthy French family while the husbands family was poor and farmers. But they thrived and stayed in the same town till they died. The grandfather worked for the Corps of Engineers while the grandmother became a successful Avon salesman. When the grandmother arrived in Mississippi she spoke no English and she always spoke with a strong accent which people in town thought was charming. So I loved that story. When they left, we had such a good time that we all hugged, although we are not supposed to be hugging. At 7:00 last evening, I received a text from Donna. Her Mother had made spaghetti for dinner and she made too much, so she wondered if I would enjoy some of their dinner. I was just beginning to wonder what I would prepare for my dinner so the timing was perfect. Donna brought over the whole dinner of spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and dessert. What a treat. This virus has been kind to me. My good neighbors just keep getting better and better.