Is it time to take a break from this Hurricane?
Well, today has felt a lot better for me. It's the weekend! Even for an evacuee with nothing on her schedule, the fact that it's Saturday somehow provides temporary excusal from all hurricane- related gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands, which is all that I feel like I accomplish anyway on that front. Maybe it's something about other people besides me not working today.
So the whole family had eggs, biscuits, potatoes, saugage and sausage gravy for breakfast. Rob got to work replacing the rotting wooden exterior housing on the hot tub with corrougated metal-- and he works fast -- it's now practically finished! So I guess someone is working after all, but do weekend projects around the house count the same way mentally? Somehow, no.
Amy and I went to this AMAZING thrift store. They are clearing out their summer inventory, and nothing is over $2! Nothing! Here's what I got for $14 -- and I tried it all on- I had to put back a lot of cool stuff that didn't fit well -- black Bananna Republic capris, Gap khaki jeans, gunmetal Express silk sleeveless blouse, magenta sleeveless blouse, Banana Republic eyelet capris -- not practical right now, but I have plans to wear them in New Orelans in the spring!, black Ann Taylor t-shirt, blue Sigrid Olsen sundress, blue Gap sleeveless top, grey t-shirt, white polo shirt, and two gorgeous long floral print skirts -- the kind I love to wear to school! My fellow thrift store shopping partners in nola would be amazed! Of course, this is not about brand names, but it is the kind of consumption that I feel ok about -- and it is nice to have some other clothes to choose from -- especially if the weather stays warm here for a little longer. And it feels like a normal, fun, non-hurricane related Saturday thing to do.
Over lunch, I was talking to Amy about my new position at school, how much I liked my new office space, how well the year had been going, how pleased I was with my science classes and my instruction -- just how great everything was. When I was describing my space, I was using the present tense, and talking about all of the plans I still had for my work at school.
I feel like I have been through many stages of grieving about my experience, and more so, about the experiences of fellow New Orleanians in this unfolding tragedy. But my favorite stage is denial. Denial in terms of belief that I will still have a life similar to my previous one to go back to. I like to call it hope instead. It seems so much more, well, hopeful! I still feel like it's ok to indulge in this sort of thinking -- after all, my house and neighborhood are still pretty much intact-- isn't is possible that I will again ride my bicycle to work on streets lined with beautiful live oak trees? The ones that thankfully are not dying because they are not submerged like so many others . . .
New Orleans right now to me is like a good friend in the early weeks of a coma. Things look bad, but maybe they'll get better. The experts have told us that it could be a long time, or maybe never, before recovery occurs. But every foot of water drained is like a flash of consciousness, a flicker of eylashes. News of power restored, or never lost, from certain places around the city is like the twitch of a finger or toe. Surely our friend will recover soon. Surely we will run and jump and play again. Experts tell us to be patient, that it will be months from now before our friend can wake up and talk with us. We should stop watching and waiting -- go get some rest. Carry on with our daily lives. Or even worse, begin to create a life without our friend. There are no guarantees, after all, that things will improve enough for our friend to live a normal life. But we can't step away from the bedside. We can't give up hope. We sift through the news focusing only on the positive.
So I think that I will still focus on hope. I will try to get some rest -- I am a bit less of a media junkie now. Shaw and I are talking more seriously about more immediate travel -- about really taking time to go do something fun for ourselves right now. We'll see. I take to heart the story my dear friend shared with me this morning on the phone, about how a planned trip to Greece after her own personal tragedy never materialized -- it just seemed to be too many details to handle at the time. Looking back, she said, "We should have just made it happen and gone to Greece!" So, perhaps it's time for us to think about our "trip to Greece". Time to make something good happen. Time to take a break from this hurricane.
So the whole family had eggs, biscuits, potatoes, saugage and sausage gravy for breakfast. Rob got to work replacing the rotting wooden exterior housing on the hot tub with corrougated metal-- and he works fast -- it's now practically finished! So I guess someone is working after all, but do weekend projects around the house count the same way mentally? Somehow, no.
Amy and I went to this AMAZING thrift store. They are clearing out their summer inventory, and nothing is over $2! Nothing! Here's what I got for $14 -- and I tried it all on- I had to put back a lot of cool stuff that didn't fit well -- black Bananna Republic capris, Gap khaki jeans, gunmetal Express silk sleeveless blouse, magenta sleeveless blouse, Banana Republic eyelet capris -- not practical right now, but I have plans to wear them in New Orelans in the spring!, black Ann Taylor t-shirt, blue Sigrid Olsen sundress, blue Gap sleeveless top, grey t-shirt, white polo shirt, and two gorgeous long floral print skirts -- the kind I love to wear to school! My fellow thrift store shopping partners in nola would be amazed! Of course, this is not about brand names, but it is the kind of consumption that I feel ok about -- and it is nice to have some other clothes to choose from -- especially if the weather stays warm here for a little longer. And it feels like a normal, fun, non-hurricane related Saturday thing to do.
Over lunch, I was talking to Amy about my new position at school, how much I liked my new office space, how well the year had been going, how pleased I was with my science classes and my instruction -- just how great everything was. When I was describing my space, I was using the present tense, and talking about all of the plans I still had for my work at school.
I feel like I have been through many stages of grieving about my experience, and more so, about the experiences of fellow New Orleanians in this unfolding tragedy. But my favorite stage is denial. Denial in terms of belief that I will still have a life similar to my previous one to go back to. I like to call it hope instead. It seems so much more, well, hopeful! I still feel like it's ok to indulge in this sort of thinking -- after all, my house and neighborhood are still pretty much intact-- isn't is possible that I will again ride my bicycle to work on streets lined with beautiful live oak trees? The ones that thankfully are not dying because they are not submerged like so many others . . .
New Orleans right now to me is like a good friend in the early weeks of a coma. Things look bad, but maybe they'll get better. The experts have told us that it could be a long time, or maybe never, before recovery occurs. But every foot of water drained is like a flash of consciousness, a flicker of eylashes. News of power restored, or never lost, from certain places around the city is like the twitch of a finger or toe. Surely our friend will recover soon. Surely we will run and jump and play again. Experts tell us to be patient, that it will be months from now before our friend can wake up and talk with us. We should stop watching and waiting -- go get some rest. Carry on with our daily lives. Or even worse, begin to create a life without our friend. There are no guarantees, after all, that things will improve enough for our friend to live a normal life. But we can't step away from the bedside. We can't give up hope. We sift through the news focusing only on the positive.
So I think that I will still focus on hope. I will try to get some rest -- I am a bit less of a media junkie now. Shaw and I are talking more seriously about more immediate travel -- about really taking time to go do something fun for ourselves right now. We'll see. I take to heart the story my dear friend shared with me this morning on the phone, about how a planned trip to Greece after her own personal tragedy never materialized -- it just seemed to be too many details to handle at the time. Looking back, she said, "We should have just made it happen and gone to Greece!" So, perhaps it's time for us to think about our "trip to Greece". Time to make something good happen. Time to take a break from this hurricane.
posted by carla at 8:51 PM
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