When I think of home, I think of the place where I reside; the place where I lay my head at night; the place where my family is, where my heart is. Although my home is in Texas now, my home-town is New Orleans. I lived there for 39 years, never thinking that another woman would force me and my family to relocate. But Katrina forced me and many others to leave the city that we loved and never really thought we would leave.
Don't get me wrong, I love my new home, but sometimes I miss Home. I will probably never live in New Orleans again, for several reasons. The school system has been in trouble for many years and hasn't gotten much better. The crime rate is among the worst in the nation. I have children and their education and welfare are very important to me. Living in New Orleans for so long, I never really knew how nice other places are. We visited other cities, but to live in another city and see how nice the roads are, how magnificent the schools are, and though I am not a shopper, I have never seen such nice shopping malls. We evacuated to Dallas, TX first, really a suburb called Little Elm near Frisco and Plano. Those towns were so nice I couldn't believe it. When we visited the schools we were in awe: clean, bright, beautiful campuses that looked more like college campuses than secondary schools.
Okay, enough about other places, this is about my hometown. What I miss about New Orleans is the rhythm, culture and hospitality. Contrary to what the movies depict, there is not always a parade going on, but there is usually some sort of cultural festival. My husband goes back often for his business and I am a little jealous when he tells me that there is some festival or when my sister calls me from a festival.
I miss the French Quarter...when I was younger we would go to the FQ EVERY Sunday, and I was sick of it!! But looking back, we had such great times there! It is such a unique place and there is always something going on, something new to see, something new to do. Even if you go every weekend, you will see something new each time you go...a new artist, a band you never heard before, a vendor you missed the last time you were in the French Market, a street performer that you thought was a statue. I miss the smell of Cafe Du Monde coffee and beignets which you can't get anywhere else.
Okay, enough about other places, this is about my hometown. What I miss about New Orleans is the rhythm, culture and hospitality. Contrary to what the movies depict, there is not always a parade going on, but there is usually some sort of cultural festival. My husband goes back often for his business and I am a little jealous when he tells me that there is some festival or when my sister calls me from a festival.
I miss the French Quarter...when I was younger we would go to the FQ EVERY Sunday, and I was sick of it!! But looking back, we had such great times there! It is such a unique place and there is always something going on, something new to see, something new to do. Even if you go every weekend, you will see something new each time you go...a new artist, a band you never heard before, a vendor you missed the last time you were in the French Market, a street performer that you thought was a statue. I miss the smell of Cafe Du Monde coffee and beignets which you can't get anywhere else.
I miss going to my momma's house whenever I wanted to, something I never really thought about. If I wanted to see my momma, it didn't matter what part of the city I lived in (we moved a lot) I was never more than 20 minutes from her. I miss seeing my sister and her kids. I miss seeing my cousins and friends at bar-b-ques that were commonplace for us.
I miss being 20 minutes from everything. I didn't realize how small home was until I moved away. It didn't matter where I had to go, it rarely took more than 20 minutes. A year before Katrina I moved to Slidell, LA, which is, according to mapquest, 31 miles from the French Quarter, and 37 minutes away. That was the extent of my travel time when I lived there. Now, if it takes only 30 minutes to get anywhere I am overjoyed.
There are many other things I miss, but life is about moving on and moving forward. I am happy where I am and feel very blessed. There is a time and a season for everything and my season in New Orleans ended more than three years ago. New Orleans is a wonderful city and has had an impact on everyone that has lived or visited. I know people that have lived there for a very short period of time and still have ties to that wonderful city.
I continue to pray for my city, that it will be the wonderful city that it should be.
Peace
There are many other things I miss, but life is about moving on and moving forward. I am happy where I am and feel very blessed. There is a time and a season for everything and my season in New Orleans ended more than three years ago. New Orleans is a wonderful city and has had an impact on everyone that has lived or visited. I know people that have lived there for a very short period of time and still have ties to that wonderful city.
I continue to pray for my city, that it will be the wonderful city that it should be.
Peace
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