Old friends

Yesterday afternoon, Suzie called. She was in Nachitoches, on her way to Shreveport! An hour or so later, she called again, and I dashed over to her Mom's to see her. She looks so damn good! All the continuing work on their house for this past year, all the stress, discomfort, smells, and problems that Katrina has caused--and she has emerged triumphant. Both of her boys and her nephew are living with them at present and working on the house. Kyle was so excited when they finally got a front door. The strange workings of Katrina to make you grateful for garbage pickup, for front doors and roofs, for water and electricity. For all the things that so many of us take for granted, but that are luxuries in reality.

It was so good to see her and to hear her discuss things that I can barely imagine and to realize how this disaster revealed so much about what people are capable of... And how wonderful to have sons that can come home to help them recover their lives.

Seeing her is always a refreshing event in my life and seeing her looking so good brings back the feeling of youth and eagerness she has always inspired in me. She and Bobby have been through so much during this past year, and I'm so thankful that they are capable of the physical labor and mental strength to continue rebuilding their home and their lives.

This picture is from last year when they escaped up here with almost nothing during the evacuation of New Orleans. Not really expecting the the complete catastrophe that occurred and not expecting to be here for months... Erin and Mila were visiting at the time (I was so glad Sue got to meet Mila), and Eric was stuck in Jackson without power because Jackson got a bad dose of K. as well.

I wrote some about it here in an entry last year.