Time flies like the wind. Fruit flies like bananas.
-- Groucho Marx
Where does the time go? It's not like I haven't been staying busy but my focus has once again changed. Ten months ago I was literally living in the mud, looking at the wreckage of my house, contemplating things lost but at the same time looking forward to what was going to be. I was planning how to attack the mess that home had become, deciding where I was going to put my family for several months and deciding right then that I was going to make the most of the opportunity to rebuild that I could reasonably do. It was my goal to get everybody home safe again - as soon as I got together enough food and water to take care of them "now".
It's interesting reflecting back on some of the things from then. I don't know if you believe in premonitions but two weeks before Katrina I'd had the thought that it really wouldn't take much to make me homeless. I didn't recognize it as anything more than a stray thought - a bit of a thought exercise to figure out how I would deal with losing my house and possessions. At the time it seemed an extraordinarily remote possibility. Like I mentioned, two weeks later I was faced with just that scenario (although a hurricane like Katrina had never entered my thought process). Funny how life works sometimes...
I've often wondered if I've really learned anything from the experience of Katrina? A few things occur to me: strong people get stronger; small things can mean a lot (a fast meal and a bottle of water from the Red Cross was like a banquet at times); kindness is it's own reward. I know, it's all cliche but that doesn't mean it isn't true.
I'm at a bit of a crossroads now too. I've got a new assignment at work that will keep me busy for the rest of the year and probably most of next year. Our volunteer group's efforts of "gutting" houses is over (51 done before July - 2 more than hoped for!), and there really isn't enough time to volunteer for good projects like Habitat for Humanity (good people who are building over 100 homes in my area right now). I'd like to, but it seems life is intruding again. My own projects are almost done too. I still have things to do at home but nothing is pressing like it was. I'm not nearly as motivated to do MY things like I was to take care of my family.
There seems to be a bit of normalcy creeping back into my life and it's almost as strange as the last 10 months. I'm not sure I know how to deal with "normalcy" anymore. And it's not like there aren't constant reminders of the hardships that others are facing. In many ways we're still not much better than a third world country in the New Orleans area. Chalmette, Mereaux and Violet all look pretty much the same as they have post-Katrina. In New Orleans the East, Lakeview, the 9th Ward, Irish Bayou, Lake Catherine, etc. all still really haven't improved much if at all. There is demolition, construction of both homes and levees and a general trend toward recovery but it's not enough. These areas are dead for all intents and purposes at this time. Even in Slidell it's easy to tell you're in a post-disaster zone in much of the south side of town. Businesses are still closed, houses are in various states of decay or rebuilding. FEMA trailers are part of the landscape.
But for all that, my life is almost normal. Now maybe I can play at JU again...
The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.
--Sidney J. Harris