My Single Mom Life

Southern hospitality is a phrase used in American English to describe the idea that residents of the Southeastern United States are particularly warm and welcoming to visitors to their homes, or to the South in general. A large component of the idea of Southern hospitality is the provision of Southern cuisine to visitors, hence there are a number of cookbooks that promise recipes advancing this purpose. *Wikipedia

Having only been here 10 years now, I don't think I've grown into that hospitable mode yet.
I'm not sure I ever will.
People annoy me basically.
But I've had the pleasure of meeting many very, true southerners who fit the whole idea of Southern hospitality.
There's this one woman I know in her mid 50's I'd guess, who is just the sweetest thing ever.
She has that long southern drawl, is ever so charming, and is just the nicest woman I think I've met since being here.

I met her about 4 years ago when I was walking to catch a bus to get to a doctors appointment very early in the morning.
She only lives a block away from me, and I guess she had seen me walking a few times.
She pulled to the side of the road and asked me if I needed a ride. I told her I was walking to the bus stop so I could get to my doctors by 9am. In order to do this by bus, I had to catch the bus at 7am, ride that one downtown, catch another one that would land me at my docs at 8:45.
I didn't tell her all of that, just the part about catching the 7am bus and the doctor.
She asked me where his office was and I told her.
She exclaimed in this most adorable accent, "That's just too far by bus sweetie, hop on in!"
I'm very hesitant about rides with strangers, but she was old, what could she possibly do to me?
I hopped in, and she drove me to my doctors office talking the whole way, asking me questions, saying she had seen me and my sons many times walking to and from various places.
Se asked me if I had a Mr. and when I told her I didn't, she said, "Well that's it, I'm adopting you sugar!"

When she dropped me off at the doctors, she asked for my number and address, I gave it to her. I figured she'd add me to her Christmas card list or something.
Nope.
When I got home later that day, the boys who had the day off from school, said an old woman had come by with a box for us, and were told to put all the contents away right away.
I asked them what it was and they said it was all kinds of food.
I went and looked and my fridge was packed with groceries. Milk and lunch meats, hamburger, cheese, loaves of bread on the counter, cookies for the kids and other stuff.
She had left her phone number so I called to thank her.
She said, "No thanks needed sweetie, I told ya I was adopting you and your boys."

Every year we get a Christmas card from her and a box of goodies left outside our door. She brings over a pie every Thanksgiving, and any time she sees me walking, she hollers at me to hop in.
It's rather nice I must say to be cared about by such a sweet woman.
Every time I try to say thank you or offer her anything in return, she always very politely, turns me down telling me it makes her happy to do it and nothing else needs to be said.