This morning I am grateful.
I have power. Hundreds of thousands of people don’t.
I have a mess to clean up in my back yard. Many people have a tree through their house.
My house smells a little musty from having the windows open yesterday. Many have standing water in their homes.
My in-laws are safe in their nursing homes. Some don’t know where their loved ones are.
So today I will clean up. I will offer the resources I have to others who have less.
I will give thanks.
Filed under new orleans, NOLA, The Lucky Mom
Those of us on the Gulf Coast got to spend our Labor Day weekend on alert. For the most part, this “Weather Event” was a minor interruption of our holiday plans. Instead of going to the beach, we watched the news around the clock, were awakened one morning (at 5:30 a.m.) by our community’s tornado alert system, spent “quality” time with our loved ones, and tried very hard to occupy ourselves indoors.
As tropical storms / hurricanes go, this one was easy. But not without its memorable moments.
Here’s a quick rundown of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from Tropical Storm Lee.
The marsh fire that had been burning just outside New Orleans is out. The 17” of rain that fell put that sucker out once and for all. Our drought is officially over in SE Louisiana, and a blast of cool air – record lows possible! – is coming this week.
Look! No 90+ degree temps in the forecast!
Our trampoline survived! Mr. Wonderful lashed it to the treehouse play structure, and it stayed put. The treehouse didn’t lose a single board, either.
The wind direction was favorable for my part of suburbia, pushing the storm surge to the other side of Lake Pontchartrain. (Which is good, because the makeshift closure to the under-construction levee behind our house did not inspire confidence.)
We only lost power for a couple of minutes, causing no disruption in the many, many hours of TV watching, video game playing, and cooking that went on during our weekend stuck inside.
I cooked A LOT. So for the next few weeks, there will be gumbo, red beans and rice, ribs, and more. This will make the busy school-evenings to come much easier.
Slick and his friends seized the opportunity after the threat had passed to go play in the flooded park near his friend’s house. A couple of skim boards, a tarp, and some baby shampoo got the teenagers out for some much-needed fun. (They were smart enough to leave their phones in the dry car, so there are no photos. The memories live only in their minds. And in the report of a certain park ranger.)
A few homes and business got water in them. It’s always sad to see someone have to go through that. Even those who live in coastal areas or outside the levee system, and know it’s a possibility.
We decided to bring my MIL to our house to ride out the bad weather. I’m pretty sure there will be no more conversations in the future about her coming to live with us. That’s all I’m going to say about that.
So all in all, TS Lee let us off easy. Let’s hope the rest of Hurricane Season goes this well.
Filed under new orleans, NOLA, The Lucky Mom
With the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaching, I’ve made a decision. This will be the last year I mark this anniversary. I’m willing to tell the story one last time, as a final catharsis to anyone who still wants to hear it. Then I’m going to declare it in the past.
The first responder marking says: 1 Dead in Attic. Photo credit: Eliot Kamenitz/The Times-Picayune
Katrina is still in our daily vocabulary. We use her as a reference in time. We refer to her as an experience that reshaped our lives and our communities. We blame her for our losses. We thank her for our renewal.
Putting it in the past is going to be a hard thing to do, for every day I drive past vacant lots where families once lived, and empty houses with broken windows and spray-painted first-responder code still on the front. But I also drive past gleaming new schools, manicured parks, and thriving communities. Those who haven’t moved forward with rebuilding have obviously made their decision.
This memorial is across the street from the Convention Center. The inscription to the right reads: Honoring the people and remembering the events that occurred August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina. Photo credit: community.devexpress.com
I’m going to be part of the “new” New Orleans.
I’m going to reflect one last time on this event that changed my life. I’m going to recall a few details, commit the lessons to my memory, and thank those you saved me when I most needed saving.
One last time.
Filed under Crazy, wandering thoughts, new orleans, NOLA, The Lucky Mom
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