6 years in the rearview

Dear Griffin and Roman,

This week marks the 6 year anniversary of hurricane Katrina.  Although the event was such a dark time in the lives of many so much good has resulted.

Your daddy and I were newly engaged and ready to commit our lives to each other.  We were dreaming of our future together and suddenly everything that we thought that we knew was in question.

I was riding out the storm in Jackson, Miss while your daddy was downtown working at the Ritz Carlton.  At the time he was a manager with the hotel and had to stay behind to take care of guests stranded at the hotel.  It was very hard for me to drive away without him.  I had every intention of riding out the storm with him until at the last minute he packed me up, put me in the car, and set me on my way.

I remember watching the aftermath unfold on television while my heart was breaking.  The love of my life was stuck in the middle of so much ugly while the city that I loved so dearly was rocked to its core.  I remember thinking I can not possibly bring a child into such a broken world.

The days following Katrina were tough and the road was not easy.  We mourned the loss of our things and our city that was no longer.  However a valuable life changing lesson was learned.  We lost possessions but still had each other.  We cried out to God in a way that we never had before.  We were made aware of our vulnerability and weakness.  Without HIM we had nothing.  Without each other we had nothing.  As we started to rebuild our lives we set Him as our foundation.  From that point we started to build our future together.  Literally from the ground up.

The progress that our city has made in the past 6 years is encouraging.  So much good has come out of something so bad.  The memories of this devastating storm will always be with me.  I pray that both of you will never have to experience such a tragic event in your lifetime.  BUT if you ever do know that there is beauty at the end of the rainbow...

All my love,
Mommy