Catching Up

This week has been a tiring, busy one for me. It's the first week of school. That means lots of work for me. True to expectations, I've been busy. Next week, I have to correct overloaded busses, and get busses to schools on time and fix all kinds of other issues. I'm in my new office and I have to say, it's good.

Howard and daughters and daughter-in-law are in Utah this weekend having a fabulous time at Swiss Days. I've been enjoying the solitude and quietness.

I had a sleep study on Friday night. Just can't sleep well during those things. I don't think anything bad will show up. I had to spend a lot of yesterday napping to catch up on what I missed Friday night.

I have a cousin in Thibideaux, Lousiana ( a town just west of New Orleans) that had to evacuate to northern Louisiana. I have a friend in Eunice, Louisiana that had to evacuate, too. She just had surgery 2 weeks ago! Still has a catheter. Imagine that. The projected path looks like Thibideaux could be hit really hard. The TV coverage is so eerily similar to what it was 3 years ago with Katrina. I'm hoping and praying that all will be well with their homes. Louisiana has been hit hard these last few years. I grew up there and hurricanes have always happened, but they are 1) more frequent, 2) stronger and 3) do more damage, thanks to the erosion of the natural barriers that used to slow them down. Katrina wiped out 200 miles of wetlands, which was nature's barrier. It stinks. Big time. My heart breaks for all the homes that are going to be lost and how lives are going to be so disrupted. But, at least this time, the leaders seem to have learned from the mistakes of the past and are evacuating people and doing things right. At least, better. I just don't GET people, though, who choose to stay and ride these things out. How do you ride out 15' of flood water? In a boat, I guess.

A cousin I used to see fairly often when I was a kid, died Monday. He was 59 and had a heart attack. I hadn't seen him for 30+ years, but nevertheless, when his daughter called me and told me he had died, I was really sad. Selfishly, I think it was because I felt just one more link to my past gone. I had gotten a phone number for him a few months ago and called him and we spent about an hour and a half catching up, and I'm really glad I did. When I saw his obituary photo, it shocked me, because it was like looking at his dad, who I knew well. I feel sad that my kids never knew and will never know any of these people or see any of the places that are still so vivid in my mind. Places I knew well when I was young. I guess that's what happens when you move 2000 miles away and change your religion when you're 19.

I watched the Democratic Convention this past week, saw Barak Obama's speech and liked what I heard. I was pretty surprised by John McCain's pick for a running mate. After 2 years of campaigning, it's hard to believe that in just a little over 2 months it will all be over, one way or another. Gladly.