They Said It

Pardon this post for posterity, but I had to capture just a few of the lines that have been handed to me by the boys recently.

Little P (who is still 4)


Getting ready to leave for the pool:

LP: "I want a tan. I don't want to put any sunblock on so I can get a tan."

Me: "You have to wear sunblock to protect your skin. You'll still get a tan."

LP: "Not as tan as A."

Jay (his 6 y.o. brother): "Duh! You're not going to get tan. You can't be brown like A. It's how you're born."

The next day...

LP: "I still want a tan. I don't have to wear sunblock today, right."

Me: "You still need to."

LP: "No! I won't get tan."

Out on the boat watching whales:

Gramma Gramma: "LP, want to come over here and see the whales?"

LP: "No. They are very big and I am very small."

Jay (age 6)


Being ripped away from his brother's wrestling game on the PSP (which I DID NOT buy):

Me: "You know I don't like you to play that game."

Jay: "Girls just don't get sweat and blood."

Laying in bed last night:

Jay: "I love you mom. I'll love you even when you're old and dead."

Big A (who just turned 12)

*eye roll* "sigh" *eye roll* "sigh"

Gustav: I Want to be Wrong

As I sit here, Hurricane Gustav is making it's way to the northern Gulf coast. No one can say for sure where it will make landfall, but New Orleans looks as if it's going to take a direct hit.

Sixteen years ago, I moved away from New Orleans after spending four incredible years there as a student at Tulane. Though I left New Orleans, New Orleans never left me, and I've tried to get "home" as often as possible.

Three years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated extensive parts of the northern Gulf coast--including New Orleans.

And it wasn't just the land and buildings that were destroyed.

Katrina wiped out the homes of tens (hundreds?) of thousands of families, but even those who were able to salvage their belongings were deeply affected by the stresses of the storm.

And having to relive the nightmare all over again so soon...how are they expected to cope?

A note from my friend yesterday reported his family's safe evacuation to Florida ahead of the storm. He was going to head north to his office to ride out the storm with the hopes of keeping his business running and being close enough to get home to begin to work on the damage as soon as possible, but he is joining his family instead. His daughter who is six was just too afraid for her Daddy. She remembers moving away from her home last time. She has felt the stress it has placed on her parents--parents who have already separated once since Katrina.

Gustav looks as though it's going to hurt her home again, and I hope I'm wrong.

There is reason to believe that, even with a direct hit, Gustav will kill far fewer people with the emergency plans that have been put into place--plans that didn't exist three years ago.

But I'm a cynic.

Are the plans in place because Louisiana has a governor who can lead the state or is it because this storm happens to be occurring during a large political convention?

Three years ago, President Bush thought his FEMA director was doing a terrific job even when anyone watching CNN knew differently.

Gustav looks like it may have a significant impact on the Gulf Coast, but people are being properly evacuated this time. Is it because politicians don't want to look like ineffective leaders in this election year?

Again, I hope I'm wrong.

Just Trying to Get Back on the Horse

I've started so many posts in my head over the past week, yet none of them have made it down my arms and out the tips of my fingers.

I've probably had too much time with my own thoughts lately, and with a good portion of them clouded by a fever, I don't know that I can access those posts that seemed really important when I didn't have the energy to open up my laptop.

So here I am now just throwing words down like they're car mats that need to dry in the sun. But it's feeling germy in here and I need to open up the windows, air things out and hope to find the purpose of this here blog.

Clearly, I'm going with the "just start writing" method.

Appreciate your patience while I wasted your time giving myself a kick in the pants.