Resolutions

(Courtesy of patheos.com)

Every December 31, just as the calendar threatens to turn to the next year I make my resolutions. They're usually very solid, reasonable weight loss and/or life-changing resolutions that I have thoroughly researched and planned (yes, I'm a nerd. You haven't caught on yet?).

But somehow they always end up like this:

January 1: "I'm so committed! This is great! I'll be down quite a few pounds by Summer!"

January 8, 9am: "Oooh! Look! I lost 4 pounds. Surely I deserve a little something special to reward my effort."

January 8, 10am: (At local bakery) "Yes, I'd like to get a cupcake please. And one of those cookies, you know, for {later}."

January 9: (On scale) "Craaaaaap! Oh well, there's always next year." 

So I'm skipping the guilt-ridden resolutions and sticking to simpler ones that may not make me drop a bazillion pounds by Summer, but will make me more interesting by then. 

I know, "Why paint the peacock?", right? 

I kid. But honestly, I have some fine-tuning to do and this is how I plan to do it:

1. Exercise 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week.
2. Read one new book a month.

Simple, right? That's the idea. I may not be the thinnest, most well-read person by the time Summer rolls around, but I will be better off than where I am now.

And isn't that the ultimate goal in life?
Well, that and fat-free, sugar-free, calorie-free cookies.      

Dirt Road Lesson: The Many Faces of Grief

Grief is a weird thing.

It strikes whenever it pleases, it doesn't let you know how long it will stay and it certainly never looks the same every time, in every person.

CajunGuy and I have been walking through some grief-inducing circumstances lately and I've come to the conclusion that grief has settled in for at least a little while. I just didn't know it at first.

While I don't exactly get a formal notice before it arrives in my life, I know what other people act like when it's here:

Customer Service people start looking at me funny, as if I have 3 heads when I ask them a question. 
What's that about?! I thought I was being nice when I asked her where she left her brain this morning. Just trying to save her from going the rest of the day without it.

My husband starts looking for fangs each time I open my mouth.
All I did was point out the fact that the trash hasn't gone out in almost a week. You'd think he would be happy I reminded him. Again.

Other drivers on the road have a look of panic and terror on their faces when I'm around.
I was just educating that person about the driving laws here in America. You'd think they would appreciate the knowledge!

After a while I start to realize that the crazy stares and looks of panic in other people are my notification that grief has arrived.

Ah yes, the faces of grief in my life are other peoples' faces.
Sorry, folks. I don't think you stood a chance, did you?

Hurricane Isaac: Anticipation

I knew the fraggin' storm was coming when I woke up this morning.
This isn't my first rodeo but it was different for some reason.
It was nothing I could put my finger on and it lingered just below the surface of consciousness. 

I brushed off the weird feeling and rolled out of bed, drank some coffee and took a shower. It wasn't until halfway through my shower when CajunGuy came into the bathroom to tell me that he wanted to buy a generator that I started to get concerned. 

Growing up we may have evacuated for a hurricane twice, including Katrina.
Given the choice, my Mom would ride out the Apocalypse. Seriously.
For me, hurricanes aren't a time to panic. You just prepare and let God handle the rest. 

Yet a wave of panic rolled in my brain when CajunGuy wanted to buy a generator. Suddenly I was new to this hurricane crap and all sensibility drained from my head. I fought him a little (OK, a lot) about the generator and even he asked me why I was digging my heels in.

And let me tell you: this was no everyday purchase. Sure, I love to save a buck but that just isn't possible when, during a hurricane, demand goes up and supply goes down. You pay what they ask and just deal with it. (I hate that part!)

So off to Lowe's we went to buy a generator. As soon as we got to the checkout I started calculating all the other things we could have bought with the money I was about to spend. I was a mess on the inside but couldn't figure out why.

After the most gut-wrenching debit card swipe of my life, I drove to the bank to get cash in case we had to evacuate. As I wrote out the check in the bank lobby it was as if that feeling I'd had all day jumped out from around a corner in my brain. 

Buying that generator meant that now I was riding out a storm, away from the protection that I have known my whole life. I was making the decision to stay or go. I was in charge of making sure my family was taken care of. I had to provide.

I was moved up the responsibility line. And it terrified me.

Until I realized that I was handling it well. Because of our diligence in saving money, CajunGuy and I were in a position that we could provide for each other. We were able to get what we need to keep us going and still be OK in the long run. 

I think that newly discovered confidence was worth the price of the generator -- and all of the anxiety.

Note: for those of you who are new to the hurricane experience, I suggest looking at this handy guide if for nothing else but a few laughs. 

Wisdom from Mom

My Mom is one of the smartest and strongest people I know.

How do I know? Well, she raised me. And believe me when I tell you, that was no easy task.

In the twenty-something years since I was born, I have learned a thing or two from my Mom.

In no particular order, here are some of the things she has (very patiently) taught me:

• It is not OK to drive late at night in a strange neighborhood with your best friends when you are only 16. You get your license taken away for that. And not by the state either, folks.
• When she says we are leaving for a certain time, she means it. You will get left behind. Trust me.
• She is always right when it comes to seeing a person for who they really are. How I wish I had learned to recognize that one waaaaay earlier in life!
• How to drive. Ask her about the mailbox incident. She never tires of that story. ;-)
• Bladder Control. "I asked you if you needed to go before we left the house. You'll just have to hold it until we get there."
•  Finances. "What do I look like? A bank? If you want it, you'll have to earn it."
• An infinite number of ways to cook hot dogs when you're on a budget. Weenie stew, weenie casserole, weenie and chili mac, boiled weenies, cold weenies...
•  Play-time with your younger brother is best spent away from the stairs. Apparently pushing your sibling down the stairs in a laundry basket is a bad decision. Can't blame a nerd for testing the laws of physics!
• Always wear clean underwear in case you end up in an ambulance or hospital. Just a thought here: if I were in a bad enough situation (a car accident, let's say) to warrant an ambulance or hospital visit, I think they kind of expect that my underwear will *not* be clean at that point.
• The power of prayer. "You better pray this stain comes out."
•  Gratefulness. "You'll thank me some day."

Mom, you were right. I am grateful for all the wisdom. My future children will be calling you quite often to tell you how "mean" I am. I guess you suspected as much though, right? ;-)

Hurricane Survival: A Guide

It's been said that Louisiana has 2 seasons: Eternal Summer and Hurricane Season.
If you've lived here for any length of time you'll likely agree with me.

Hurricane season here in Louisiana is such a large part of our culture that we don't even worry about most of the things that happen in the tropics.

A storm heading for the Gulf? Gimme a square on the Hurricane Pool. Oh, and throw my name on the Saints pool, too. You know they're gonna win, right?

We're weird like that here in the Gulf States. See how alarmingly unconcerned we are with hurricanes here in the South? That's not to say that we are never concerned about them, but Katrina taught us a few good lessons:

1. Not every storm is worthy of full-blown panic. Wake me up when it becomes a Category 3, mkay?
2. Even a hurricane is a good reason to have a party. We seriously have hurricane parties here. (Why are you laughing??) Some folks have even been known to bring their stock of canned goods and do a "can swap". After all, there are only so many cans of beans you can eat, even if it is your only food until the power comes back on.
3. It's just stuff. Yes, it hurts to lose it but as someone who watched her family and friends lose everything, I'm here to tell you that stuff can be replaced. If you talk to us now, we all agree that it was easier to replace our stuff than it would have been to replace our lives.
4. Make peace with your family members now. Or at the very least, invest in some good ear plugs. You may be spending 17+ hours with said family member(s) in a vehicle headed for Heaven-knows-where, praying that your beloved relative's bad habit of talking incessantly will end, or you will have to end it for them, so help you God...Oh, wait, where was I again? Oh yeah: Assault is illegal, even during an evacuation. So is strapping someone to the roof of your vehicle for the duration of the trip. Not that I've ever thought of that or anything...
5. Being away from your home for extended periods of time during a hurricane (aka Hurrication) can be fun. We met lots of really great people during Katrina and kept in good spirits despite what was happening.
6. We make Hurricane Pools. We bet on strength of the storm when it hits land, where the eye will make landfall and how long until power is restored, among other things. Ya know, when life hands you lemons...
7. Homeowners' Insurance policies don't cover flooding. You MUST buy a flood policy to be covered. Trust us on this one!
8. MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) become a source of entertainment as well as nutrition. They're often labeled with a meal number to identify the contents. At one point after Katrina, someone was operating a website dedicated solely to MREs and their contents. You typed in the MRE number and got a list of what was inside the MRE. Handy for those times when you don't want to open the whole package just to figure out what's inside. Word to the wise: While MREs are a great thing to have in times of crisis, they were meant to sustain our military during times when food is scarce. Most have between 2,000 - 3,000 calories so be careful when eating them, lest you suddenly wonder why the pants that fit you 2 days ago no longer fit you today. True story.
9. If you are traveling with pets and one of them starts to whine like crazy, please take it as a note to pull over and let them pee. Otherwise, your mistaking their "potty cry" for their "scared cry" could get you a lap full of warm pee. Another true story.
10.  And rounding out my list of lessons: make a family member/friend who lives outside of Hurricane Striking Zone your point of contact for the whole family. Phone calls are often VERY hard to make to people in the hurricane's path and having one person to call to get updates from, and report your well-being to, can save your sanity. If you have any left after dealing with #4 on this list, that is.

Hurricanes, like anything in life, are easier when you're prepared.

Which reminds me, 33 days until the start of Hurricane Season 2012. Are you ready?