Y’all, it has been a week. We are at that point in summer where I just want everyone out of my house. And yet, Tom is still working from home, and Oliver doesn’t return to school until 9/8. Jack starts 10th grade tomorrow, enormous news as he spent fewer than 20 days of freshman year actually in school. His first class of high school was online net sports. Bless. I made his favorite meal tonight- gumbo and blackberry pie- and he ate gallons and tons. So, as he heads into tomorrow with a fantastic new haircut and a great slate of classes, he is ready, despite a few nerves.

Last Wednesday, my dad had a fairly standard surgery. After less than 24 hours, however, he was discharged in completely ambivalent fashion, and not three hours later, I took him to the ER. We were there until nearly midnight, and as we drove home realized that the next day, Friday, was the first anniversary of Hurricane Laura. What a shitty anniversary. And to cap that off, Hurricane Ida started approaching. As I’m sure you’ve seen, she landed with a thunderous Cat 4 bash on SE Louisiana around lunchtime today, the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. At present, all of New Orleans is without power, the Mississippi River actually REVERSED course for several hours because of Ida’s extremely high winds, 22 barges broke free in one parish, and 22 miles of I-10 are already closed because of downed trees, and after seven hours, the storm is still a Cat 3. And this on top of the horrific Covid situation across Louisiana. None of this is good at all. I am SO THANKFUL that my parents live here now and aren’t boarding up, evacuating, and so forth. Mom worked in her garden today, Dad rested, I brought him gumbo, and now I’m giving more thanks for the silver lining that is Laura booting them from Lake Charles.

For a bit of levity, I give you this.