Family Traditions

Mama, Daddy, Martha, and five of their favorite cakes and pies arrived at our house about 4:30 Friday afternoon. Hazel wasn’t expecting any company (I must have forgotten to tell her about our weekend plans when I was serving her breakfast that morning), so as soon as Daddy opened our front door, she fully embraced the role of Ferocious Protector Dog of the Universe. She really didn’t bark as much as she hollered, and after Alex and I managed to convince her that THE VISITORS ARE NOT HERE TO HARM US, we somehow got everybody inside and relaxed and settled.

Even Hazel.

Kind of.

We were actually way overdue for a weekend visit with the grandparents. We didn’t intend for it to happen, but between deadlines and summer camps and vacations and whatnot, we weren’t in Mississippi during our summer break nearly as much as we normally are. We kept trying to find little windows for a trip here or there, but our calendars just wouldn’t cooperate. Because of that, Alex was looking forward to some time with his grandparents, not to mention that it’s been a year, probably, since Martha and I made our last trip to the Steinmarts.

(I mean, I’m not saying that the CEO of Stein Mart called me personally or anything like that, but I am saying that earth was in danger of slipping ever-so-slightly off its axis.)

(Why, just think of all the 3/4-sleeve jackets Martha might have missed! Can you imagine? I can’t even imagine! It’s just so hard to imagine!)

I cooked supper Friday night (I made this chicken and asparagus casserole, which is always a hit with Mama and Martha), and after we spent a good hour or hour and a half talking about what all the different churches in my hometown do for their 50-Plus programs and what they cook for Family Night and who spoke at their revival services and why the grass won’t grow in one patch of Martha’s yard (clearly that was a sidebar conversation), I cleaned up the kitchen and climbed in the bed at the wild and crazy hour of 9 o’clock in the PM. I felt a little shamed when I could tell that Martha could’ve talked for 2 or 2 1/2 more hours, but it had been a busy week at work, and I knew that I was going to need all my strength for our Saturday shopping.

It was not going to be my first Steinmart shopping rodeo, you understand.

Saturday morning I woke up pretty early, and after Mama, Martha, and I were all dressed and sufficiently caffeinated and ready to leave the house, Martha quickly reviewed her “like-to-find” list for the day. I’m pretty sure that I’ve mentioned this before, but for Martha the “like-to-find” list is an ever-evolving and changing mental document where she keeps track of various items that, well, she’d like to find when she shops. One day she might like to find a really good brand of pepper jelly, some cute Christmas napkins, and a coral-colored candle. The next day she might like to find a tea cart for her kitchen, a green lamp, and some homemade caramels. Some things stay on the like-to-find list for months before she discovers that elusive something or other, while other things only stay on the list for a few hours before my goodness! have you ever! can you even believe that I’ve found this porcelain elephant / brass dresser pull / filigree liquid soap dispenser?!?! Isn’t that perfectly wonderful? I’m just thrilled! It’s perfectly wonderful!

The like-to-find list for Saturday’s excursion was pretty simple, really: a 3/4 sleeve black knit shirt, two pink hand towels (not hot pink! not fuchsia! a soft pink! but not peach-y pink!), and some Isotoner velcro slippers. I, on the other hand, wanted to look for some clothes for work, and Mama was just happy to be along for the ride. So off we went.

Our first stop was Nordstrom Rack, and while Martha thought they had some cute things! such cute things! some really cute things!, I could tell it wasn’t really her cup of tea since Nordstrom Rack doesn’t typically carry many 3/4 sleeve jackets. I, on the other hand, found three or four cute shirts for work (I am very partial to the Pleione brand and the Daniel Rainn stuff, too), and the only way I can imagine experiencing the same level of enthusiasm that Martha felt about my purchases would be if Mississippi State were to win a national championship in football. Three years in a row.

We eventually left Nordstrom Rack, went to Kohl’s (hoping to find the elusive pink hand towels, but no), then Zaxby’s (Mama and Martha think their chicken tenders are OUT OF THIS WORLD), and then to the mothership, Stein Mart. Neither Mama nor Martha made it more than a foot inside the front doors before they were completely captivated by a display of decorative wheat, and I was so tickled that I just stood there and watched them. I have no idea if I’ll make it to my 80s or not, but if I do, I pray that I won’t be able to take more than four steps inside a Stein Mart before I am absolutely bowled over by a set of bookends or a ceramic doorstop or an artful arrangement of artificial fall leaves.

It was no time at all before Martha found a black 3/4 sleeve black knit top, at which point she looped around the store until she found me next to a rack of wide-legged pants and asked if I thought her top was too long to tuck in. As someone who has not tucked in a shirt since 2002, I didn’t feel I was qualified to rule on the tuck-in matter at hand, but Martha finally determined that it would be fine to blouse the shirt over the waistband of her pants since that would still allow for a clean line under her jacket sleeves.

So obviously I was relieved that we solved that pressing issue.

By the time we left Stein Mart we’d worn Mama out, so we ran her back to the house before we went to Target, where Martha bought a hand towel in the perfect shade of pink (not sure why she opted for one instead of two), and I bought some ketchup and a hairbrush (listen. I know that nobody cares. but I have officially crossed over to the land of TOO MANY DETAILS). Afterwards we went to the grocery store, where Martha was thrilled to find some Mrs. Meyer’s countertop spray and probably could have inspected the bulk items in the bin section for another half hour if I hadn’t needed to get home and start supper.

So then we drove home and I cooked supper and David cleaned up the kitchen and we all watched football.

And then today we ate lunch at Chuy’s. Mama ordered a grilled chicken salad that I didn’t even know Chuy’s offered (but she said it was absolutely delicious), and Martha ordered the stacked enchiladas. When they brought our food to the table, Alex leaned over to me and said, “Mama. As soon as Martie sees hers? She’s gonna say, ‘THESE PORTIONS!'” – but Martha responded with admirable reserve. She just said that it looked delicious, which it did.

Our people went home after lunch, and even though we were sad to see them go, it was mighty nice to have them here.

I just hate that Martha never found those velcro Isotoner slippers.

I guess they’ll be at the top of the like-to-find list the next time she’s here.

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Comments

  1. I so love listening to you! This was the icing on the cake to my day!

  2. Kathleen G says:

    Goodness this sounds like the weekend my mom and sister is still having. They’re leaving tomorrow from my brothers home. Love The Lists! So glad you had a wonderful weekend Boomama with your people! Kathleen in Az

  3. Best update in ages! It’s been a while since we’ve heard any Martha news. I’m still giggling about the decorative wheat enthusiasm.

  4. Love this post!! I feel like ya’ll are me, my mom, aunt and cousin when we used to spend weekends like that before we had little ones…in fact, when the first little one came along, we taught her that we went “shopping for shoes!!” at every chance.

    Google those Isotoner slippers and send her a pair for a surprise. :)

  5. Rachel McCoy says:

    Sophie, this post blessed me so much. Coming off a night of very little sleep with a teething baby and a sick toddler, this was such a great start to my day. Martha stories get me every time, and the images of the 3 of you out shopping together brought a smile to my face. What a gift for you to have these women in your life. Thanks for writing this and giving us a peek into your weekend with the fam.

  6. Well, I enjoy all the details! And I love Mrs Meyers. I spent at least 20 mins smelling each and every scent whilst at Target yesterday, lol! The fact that there is a spray, dish detergent, hand soap AND a soy candle, omg!

  7. The details are wonderful! Love your stories! Thanks for making me laugh this morning. :-)

  8. I was so worried that she wouldn’t find the towel in the perfect shade of pink! Thank goodness! What is this Chuy’s that everyone speaks of??? We do not have this in New England. And, I’m starting to suspect that is not a good thing!

  9. Jennifer S says:

    Sophie, I’ve missed you, and I always care what you buy at Target! XXXOOO

  10. Loved this post. Just loved it. Every. Little. Thing.

  11. Karen Ward says:

    It’s been ages since we’ve heard a Martha story!! Delightful!

  12. I guess you know what to get Martha for Christmas! I introduced your/Melanie’s big boo podcasts to my mom and daughter this weekend. Y’all are now loved and revered by 3 generations of my family :-)
    I’m just jealous of your trip to the Steinmarts….Ours closed 4 years ago, and life’s never been the same.

  13. OOOOHHHHHH! A new Martha story! Love, love, loved this!

  14. I so enjoyed reading this!!!! I recently finished your first book and loved it! The part about birthing a child at home and having Domino’s delivered had me laughing so hard I was crying and then it took me forever to calm down enough to read it to my husband!

  15. Beth Wilson says:

    I have to tell you this because I know you will be as tickled as I was after you hear this: Saturday, my family went shopping for my daughter who has somehow outgrown everything! Anyway, my 5 year old daughter has been wanting a Captain America shirt and she kept asking all day if we were going to “the Kohl’s” to find the shirt.! We ended up finding Captain America pj’s instead and now she will say we found my Captain America pajamas at “the Kohl’s”! Normally I wouldn’t have thought anything about the way she added “the” but after reading your blog and book where you mention Martha saying this, I get so tickled everytime! It’s extra funny hearing a 5 year old saying it. Ha!
    Can’t wait to read your next book.

  16. I love this post (love it, no really, I do)!

    I love that you have your family, and that they all love to hang out together. I love that your mom is with you (mine is in Heaven) and I love that you take your Mom AND your Mother-in-law shopping. They are blessed to have you, and you are truly blessed to still have them in your life.

    Thank you so much for this post! Brings back such wonderful memories.

  17. Chuy’s salad is called the MexiCobb salad and it’s TO DIE FOR! I live in Austin, Chuy’s home town, and my people eat the MexiCobb on a very regular basis. It’s perfect for people eating low carb! No chips or crunchy things mixed in at all. And they DON’T SKIMP on the avocado. Yummy.

  18. Oh my, I am so glad your mama and Martha came for a visit and we got to hear about the delightful shopping trip. It has been way too long since we’ve had a mama and Martha update. Such a fun post. Thanks for inviting us all along with you on your shopping adventure. Those 2 ladies are such a treasure, and the way you write about them makes them so real and lovable. :) Blessings!

  19. Are you coming to Mobile by chance for the big State/South AL game?! SAY YES PLEASE!!

  20. PRECIOUS. This was absolutely precious!

  21. I need a Martha in my life!

  22. Thank you so much for sharing your weekend. I have missed the Martha stories so!

  23. Sounds like a fun weekend! I love to wear Pleione tops too…so I definitely need to check out this Daniel Rainn brand! :)

  24. Martha's Mama says:

    You would be surprised at how many times I laughed out loud at this post!!! It was like I was shopping with you!

    Love it!!

  25. Laura Stultz says:

    A new Martha story! Made my day! Thank you, I needed that.

  26. The mothership. LOL!

  27. my father-in-law also like the Isotoner slippers. He had some black ones but also wanted brown ones since he wears khakis most of the time. You can get them on the internet. Good luck.

  28. I have been waiting for this recap since I saw your tweet about your guests. And it did not disappoint! :-) I think you should have Martha back soon so you can keep the search for the Isotoner slippers going. I’d love to hear how that goes!

  29. Sophie, reading this was like catching up with old friends.I love that your folks bring Martha with them when they come to visit. Having in-laws that get along and are even friends is a blessing most of us don’t experience. Thanks for sharing your family with us.

    BTW, Miss America is this Sunday. Will you live blog? There’s a “Countdown to the Crown” special on before the pageant, too.

  30. Sophie, I am SO GLAD you wrote this post! I’ve missed you so!! I love every little detail and am thrilled that you had some wonderful family time. You always manage to make me laugh out loud—-many times—and smile from ear-to-ear. Hugs!

  31. Loved this! Martha is a true “shop til you drop” gal! How wonderful that your mom, dad, and mother-in-law travel together to visit you.

  32. Oh, how I love a good Martha story. You made my day. :-)

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