Here We Go Again...
Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Friends:

We are on pins and needles watching the weather and monitoring Hurricane Rita in the Gulf of Mexico. It was not even a month ago that Hurricane Katrina plowed through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, leaving devastation and desolation in her wake. As of my writing, Rita is projected to make landfall on Saturday, September 24th. Right now, she is a strong Category 3 hurricane with winds topping 115 mph and predicted to strengthen to a Category 4 with winds between 131 to 155 mph. Her current projected path is the Texas Coast with Galveston/Houson being in the middle of the cone.

My family and I are preparing to evacuate once again and if necessary, will migrate north to Fort Worth, where my mother is working. It is very scary to think that we may once again have to roam, looking for a home. I keep praying that something miraculous will happen, like with Ophelia. Last week, Hurricane Ophelia stalled off the coast of North Carolina and finally turned away, dancing her last steps in the Atlantic Ocean.

Fort Bend Schools (where the Jourdan, Camrynn and Eliana attend) are closed on Thursday. Texas' coastal communities are being evacuated. Tonight when I went to Wal-Mart, it was flooded with people purchasing canned goods and water. In fact, Wal-Mart ran out of water and its gas station (Murphy Oil) ran out of gasoline. After Katrina, people are hyper-cautious and extremely nervous. I feel like I have been plunged into a never-ending nightmare.

New Orleans is preparing for more flooding because the pumps, which have recently begun working again, will not be able to handle even a small storm surge. Even if the hurricane hits Houston, New Orleans will feel its effect with a small storm surge. There will be more flooding.

We don't want to alarm the children so we act "normal." Tonight, we went to "McTeacher's Night" at McDonald's. The teachers from the kids' school worked behind the counter at McDonald's, including the principal. The kids loved seeing their teachers serving them dinner! It raised money for the school.

I also did story time, reading Bark, George! by Jules Feiffer. I created a lap theater (thank you for the idea, Sherrie Hickl) out of a box and made scenery with construction paper. Several friends, especially Mary Jo Huff, sent puppets for the children. I performed a puppet show and the two children from next door, Christina (7) and Bobbie (5), watched as well. I had fun and the kids had a blast. It helped me to take my mind off our current dilemma.

The kids have started journaling. I created journals for all of them. I decorated donated notebooks with their name and stickers. I stapled a large Ziplock bag to the inside front cover of the notebook to store stickers and bookmarks. Every day, they draw or write whatever they want. The older children date their pages while the younger children free draw. I just want them to have a creative outlet.

Of all the children, Jourdan, my brother's oldest son, has had the most difficult time assimilating. He hasn't been doing his class work and is failing all of his subjects. He has also had some acting out issues. My brother's four kids have lost their home (their mother's house was in St. Bernard Parish) and everything they own at their mother's house. In addition, since the evacuation, they have had very little contact with their mother (by her choice). She calls once or twice a week, if they are lucky. She speaks to them for less than a minute a piece. My brother is essentially a single father now. I help him as much as I can.

My biggest heartache is for our children. I pray that this storm will turn and move away from us. I don't know how the children will handle evacuating again. Auntie Erlie's house has now become our home and we were getting comfortable here. To uproot them again will be so hard on them. Just when things were picking up and getting better, we're faced with the wrath of Rita.

Besides packing and preparing to leave, our only course of action right now is to hope and pray...

Until next time...