On This Day, Three Years Ago

I was living in a huge house with my six-month old daughter.  My ex-husband was probably in the garage.  I was glued to the television, making phone calls, trying to locate my parents amidst the horror stories coming out of Slidell and Pearlington.  40-ft storm surges, towns wiped out, people missing…

It was the day after Katrina, and my life irrevocably changed.

It was shortly after that when I started to write. It was that event that changed my life; suddenly, I realized how lucky I was, and how much family meant to me. I realized I had no history to pass down to my daughter. I had stories that I never wanted to forget. I had a heritage, one that I’d tried to hide for many, many years.

Now I display it proudly.  We may be redneck, but we love each other.

As Gustav bears down on the coastline, I have the worst sense of anxiety I’ve experienced since the divorce. While there is some comfort in knowing that the waters didn’t make it to my parents home before, there is the matter of cleaning it all up again. I have witnessed what Katrina did to people; those who lived freely and openly have been replaced by hollow eyes, sunken cheeks, and a vicious case of “I remember when…”

I don’t know that they can take another hit.

This entry was posted on August 30, 2008 at 11:54 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.



2 Responses to “On This Day, Three Years Ago”

  1.   wordnerd Says:
    August 31st, 2008 at 4:52 am

    You know, those are my thoughts exactly. My family will manage — it’s going to be tough but we can do it. I cannot imagine what those people are thinking right now. I really can’t.

    I hope you were able to get your family to evacuate.

  2.   Mom Says:
    September 4th, 2008 at 5:50 pm

    Hey we’re fine–thanks for the prayers. Pearlington took a 2-3 foot storm surge again, nothng like Katrina. The westbank of New Orleans was hit pretty hard, actually it could have been a lot worse. The lower “cajun” area’s were hit really hard but they’re “family based” comminuities and stick together, another plus is Gov. Jindel, he’s on the ball and learned a lot from Katrina too.
    Your Grandmother’s home is fine……… Love you :)