On Our Way Back

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Monday, January 25, 2010

Well, the time to leave came. We saw Gaby and Maddie and then Cathy and Dewey left for the farm before we left as Dewey didn’t have to go to the hospital ‘till noon.

We then drove to New Orleans, to the French Quarter. As many know, this area was not affected by the flood caused by Katrina. We parked and then started walking. It is certainly a charming area. We went to Café du Monde and had coffee and vignettes, which are a kind of French donuts. Man were they good.

Later in the day, we went for lunch and had true Po Boys. Wow! For those who don’t know, a Po Boy is a kinda hero sandwich of fried seafood. We had oysters and shrimp. They were so, so good!!! I don’t think I have ever had tastier seafood ever! We also ordered a muffeletta to go, which is an Italian cold cut sandwich with and olive salad kinda dressing.

We were there ‘till about 3 pm and then started on our way. Driving out of town, we went to the places where Matt had lived as well as some of his friends. The streets and highways have been rebuilt as well as some houses, but there is still so much work to be done. You can see a newly built house next to one that is barely holding up, many, many times over.

To my great surprise, we had to drive for about an hour and a half out of the city to finally hit an area that had NOT been affected by Katrina. In addition to the flooding affected areas, you could see, for miles and miles, land with broken down dead trees affected by the winds. How sad!

New Orleans Visit Album

Once again, and having done a little of work to help some of the victims that moved to Atlanta, I can’t help but to think of how lucky we are. In spite of the difficult financials times, we have never had to go through something like this. I can’t imagine what it might feel like to loose your home and all the special things that hold memories that we treasure.

Thought of the day:

“No matter how big or soft or warm your bed is,

you still have to get out of it.”

(Grace Slick, Singer and Songwriter)

OK, I guess you will not be surprised when I say the thoughts that come to mind when reading this are related to what New Orleans went through during Katrina. We spend so much energy building a comfortable and warm place to share with our loved ones, we don’t consider the possibility that a time might come when it might not be available. How do you prepare for something like that?

On a smaller scale, we still create places of warmth and comfort for ourselves. We all need them and we all need to feel warm and cozy and have a place of solace and where we can rest. Hopefully, that place allows us to replenish and get back out there full of energy and strength every day. Do you have a place like that?

Matt and I do, where, regardless of the location, as long as we are together, it follows and comes to life. And we hope all those we love also do…

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

I went to pick up Sapphie at Lito and Tere’s. Come to find out, while still in Hammond, she cried all night the first night. So Lito and Tere decided to let her out of the crate at night and allow her to sleep with them. Aren’t they angels or what! We are so thankful of how much they care about Sapphie and their being willing to take her when we go out of town. I really would not like to have to leave her in a kennel ever.

While I was there, the front door got open and Max ran away. Lito went after him and I followed with the leash. Long story made short, we basically walked the whole cart path circle, past K-Mart, back to the house. Max needs some major recall training Michael!

Basically, I started getting back into my daily routine. After more than a month, I worked out again today. It feels good!

Thought of the day:

“The only way for a woman, as for a man, to find herself,

 to know herself as a person, is by creative work of her own. There is no other way.”

(Betty Friedan, Writer and Cofounder of the National Organization for Women)

OK, if you know me, you know how much writing fuel this can provide for me. So I will try to keep it short and sweet.

Be it through an artistic labor or not, the path to self-knowledge, I believe, will always be a creative and, if I must say so, courageous one. It is certainly one that requires vision and openness, guts to look inside and the discipline to make the necessary changes for growth.

This is one of the things that I love the most about Matt. He is willing to go through the process. So am I. And, together, we support and challenge each other to be better every day and to continuously search for the understanding of our own selves and each other, as – as we see it – this is a life long endeavor.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

I am back working on my rep and practicing some piano. I also started answering all the back logged emails. It was simple day, catching up with daily life.

Thought of the day:

“To keep your character intact you cannot stoop to filthy acts.

It makes it easier to stoop the next time.”

(Katherine Hepburn, Academy Award-winning Actor)

This is certainly true. I would just add that the simplest things can trick us to feel that they are insignificant and do not count. But, the truth is, they do and have a cumulatively numbing effect, if you know what I mean.