Difficult Decisions
Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Friends:

I am so troubled by the decisions we have to make this week. My husband, Antonio, received a call from his boss. It looks like LSU Health Sciences Center will soon be operational. He is supposed to report to work by November 7. He will keep his job and return to work. While that may seem like good news, it puts us in a Catch 22 situation.

We are tied to New Orleans because of our house. Though it sustained some damage, it is reparable. We continue to pay a mortgage. Because I am self-employed and most of my work was in the region devastated by Katrina, there is no work in the area near my home. I have been networking like crazy and finding jobs in Houston and the surrounding areas. It looks like it will be a great market for me. I already have a bunch of gigs scheduled in the next few months in Houston and beyond. We are a two-income family and I have to work. My income actually pays Soleil's school tuition.

Both girls are enrolled in schools in Houston. While I do not wish to uproot them and have them start the school year over at home, Soleil is in quite an academic predicament. She is a top scholar at Immaculata High School in Marrero, Louisiana. She even won an academic scholarship to the school. On her current track, she is in line for Valedictorian of her class. Immaculata is beginning school on Monday, October 3. Immaculata needs to know this week if Soleil will be returning to school. If she doesn't return, she risks losing her scholarship and her academic standing. In addition, the school may not take her back if she wants to return next school year.

Here in Texas, Soleil only has one honors class (they wouldn't give her anymore because they didn't want to overburden displaced students and cause them undue stress). If she stays here in Texas, her GPA will be jeopardized when she returns to Louisiana. Also, if she goes back to Louisiana now, she will have to start the school year over and attend summer school to make up the month of school lost. All the school she has had thus far will not count.

If I keep the girls in Houston, I have the problem of childcare. Who will care for the children when I have to travel out of town for gigs? In the past, it has been Antonio, my mom, or my mother-in-law. Antonio thinks it may be best if the girls go back home to school there while I stay in Houston until our area recovers more. His mom and dad will be there to help with the kids. I cannot bear the thought of living without my children! It tears my heart out. Yes, I travel but I always come home.

There are also so many questions. It is one of the few Catholic high schools in the New Orleans area able to reopen. They will be taking in students from other Catholic schools around the area. Will Immaculata be overcrowded? Will all the teachers return? What will the quality of life be like in the area?

We could send Soleil back with Antonio and keep Eliana here with me but I don't want to separate the girls. Antonio says there is no good solution. I can't stop crying.

I cannot ask Soleil to sacrifice her academic career (her goal is to graduate Valedictorian) to stay with me. At the same time, what kind of mother would I be to not stay with my children? Yet, I need to work to bring in income and there is work in Houston. What do we do?

My brother, Gary, is also in a tough situation. He works for LSU Health Sciences Center as a police officer. LSUHSC has a two-year work probation period for their officers. My brother's two-years of probation ends November 10, 2005. Because he is on probation, he will receive his last paycheck on September 30. He is a single father with four children. What will happen to them?

In order for Gary to get on with any police department here in Texas, he needs Texas certification. He can't get hired here without it. It will take some time for him to test and receive his Texas certification. In the meantime, what will he do for income?

There is so much uncertainty swirling in the air. We are scared and hoping for miracles. Katrina has left so much destruction, devastation, and despair in her wake. Can we recover? Can we be whole again? Please pray for us.

Until next time...