Soar-Dream-France: 40 Years HOME-Columbus Street

With so much going on in the world at the moment,I have to work very hard to hang on to some of the things that are important to me so that they don't get lost in the shuffle of this pandemic. I missed the 18-year anniversary of the Chatette back in February-2/22/2002.

Joan was here and we were in the throws of Mardi Gras. You'd have thought having her here and our friendship from there during those times, would have made me remember again. No, I didn't remember until way after the fact.

Interestingly, the night I returned from France in December both hit me while I was here in bed. May 2020 would be the 40 year anniversary of me living on Columbus Street and February 2020 would be 18 years for me and the Chatette.

I bought Columbus Street during May of 1980 and am still amazed to realize that it has been that long.

That year, my Nannie lent me $15,000 so that I could assume the mortgage on this house. Nannie passed away during September of that year, so the loan became a gift since it would have been my inheritance.

That Nannie and Papa-my piano...Columbus Street...and, indirectly, the Chatette too, all came to me because of them.

Until Hurricane Katrina, Columbus Street always felt like a good thing in my life.

It was because Columbus Street was almost paid off in 2001, that I was able to pay it off and then take out a new mortgage that would be in dollars to buy our Cadrieu Chatette.

I tease, but it's true. Everything in France is mine free and clear, but Columbus Street still has the mortgage on it.

Any way you slice it, Columbus Street has always been a good idea and really has given me so much, even though there have been times when I couldn't see it.

"Free to a Good Home!"

That's what made it all so hard after the storm. I couldn't be here. The heart of the house had flooded and everything was sad, horrendous and overwhelming. The house has never been the same for a lot of reasons that I won't go into now. I can honestly say, that being here during the pandemic has made me feel like I am finally recapturing this home and this place that has always meant so much to me. Too often, I hurt just to be here. Now, it feels good and I see myself thinking about things here and there in whole new ways.

It's a strange life. It seems that my lives are coming closer together. I'm learning to take it all as it comes and pay attention to all my feeling in the moment. I have no idea where this will all end up, but I'm grateful that I still have Columbus Street. I have a place I know and love and am finally comfortable in again.