Soar-Dream-France: May 2020

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.

Our Gaynell Williams-Waving! With us in spirit!

40 years! Wow! A HUGE MERCI to Columbus Street-Happy 40th Anniversary-Love, Laury

Ever since this COVID-19 Pandemic began,I've been trying to figure out how it is going to impact my ability to get home to Cadrieu. Now, I know.

As usual, I did not have a return ticket yet since I'm often running around like a chicken with my head cut off at the end, trying to squeeze in visits to friends and family up and down I-55 before I go. I rarely feel at loose ends about these arrangements. They just happen-not this time. There is an irony to the pieces of this story. I'm putting it here for posterity and for so many of you who have missed the blog and have asked!

I left Cadrieu on December 17 in the middle of a transportation strike that crippled most of France. On that day, my friend Yves Jolly actually drove me to Brive so I could catch my train to Paris. It was a very special train. It was the only train running in all of France that day. It came down from Paris, let their passengers off turned around so it was heading back north again, and was ready for the rest of us. I was lucky-I'd already had two trains canceled., I'd reserved taxis in Paris from the Gare d'Austerlitz to the Hotel Tiquetonne and from the Hotel to CDG Airport. The stories along the way were many. Let's just say that I made it to New Orleans on schedule the night of the 18th!

This was the first year in a while that I was going to be stateside for Christmas. During October, I was just really feeling that it was important that I find a way to spend Christmas with Dad this year. Weather is usually hell driving between New Orleans and St. Louis, so I decided that I would rent one of the family cottages on the grounds of the Senior Facility where Dad was in assisted living and give myself enough time that if there were weather problems I'd have the care for more than enough time. I also figured that if the weather got bad after I arrived, I'd already be there and could just walk to Dad. I thought I was set.

I already knew as I was driving north to St. Louis on Christmas Eve that Dad was in the hospital. My sister kept me up along the way, and I decided to go there before I went to the cottage. The Dr. had told Kat that if any of us were out of town that we needed to come...could be tomorrow-could be 6 months. I've said over and over that it was not the Christmas I'd hoped for, but the Christmas that was meant to be. Both of my brothers came and we shared he cottage and my rental car chauffeur service while I was there. I am so grateful I was stateside and that Dad and I had quality time together one on one. I had to get back to NOLA on Sunday. I told Dad once I did everything I needed to do back there; I would return. As it turned out, we lost Dad on New Year's Day...3 days after my departure.

Losing Dad was devastating and still is. There were so many feeling and so much to face. We did.

So much had changed for me. Dad and I talked every morning at 7am his time no matter where I was in the world.There were times when it wasn't possible, but those were few and far between. I returned to the states each year for around 3 months so that I could make at least 2 trips between New Orleans and St. Louis to see Dad. Now, the landscape of my life had changed. I saw myself no longer returning for months at a time, but for much shorter trips. I'm happiest in Cadrieu. I was thinking that now, Maybe I could finally get a pet again since I'd no longer be gone months at a time.

I returned to New Orleans after Dad's services. First, my friend Wendy came the following week for a visit. Then, my friend Joan came for Mardi Gras. Once Joan got off, my next two weeks had 2 days each of workshops. The last weekend of my last workshop, our Louisiana Governor closed the schools due to the virus. Soon, we were living under stay at home orders with very specific guidelines to be followed. The Pandemic was evolving and growing quickly all over the world.

Travel has been hugely impacted. I'd decided in March to go ahead and book a ticket from NOLA to Paris so I'd have it and would be in line in case anything changed. My April 6 flight came and went and I canceled it. I next considered May or June, but everything kept changing on a daily basis.

I'd hoped to get back before the end of June so I could get in my 4th consecutive year of 6 plus months to meet the 5 consecutive year requirement so I can apply for residency. As time went on, I knew I was not excited about getting on a Trans-Atlantic flight any time soon. First, flying at all was an issue. Second, I wasn't even sure I could get home to Cadrieu once I got to Paris. Third, I needed to be back in the states in February 2021 to make sure I did my taxes and paperwork correctly for the inheritance. The more I thought about everything, I decided that I would much rather make one trip and not two and would just hang tight until Spring 2021. That way, I can take care of my business here and then when I return to Cadrieu I can stay put. It may not make the best sense residency-wise, but it certainly makes the most sense stress and health-wise.

I'm not thrilled, but I'm resigned that this is the best thing for me under the circumstances. My family and friends here and in France agree.

This certainly is the roller coaster that is my life. I've gone from getting back to France this spring of 2020, being there as usual, getting a 4-legged child, and making it back after the first of the year for the shorter visit.

Now, I'm here in New Orleans until spring of next year and won't be able to get back until then. At least I think I should be able to get back by Spring of 2021, but to be honest-no one really knows for sure.

At least it gives me time to: see how all of this unfolds; make new travel plans; give the airlines time to put their plans in place; hope for a vaccine or medication for the virus; be here in case something comes up that I may need to be here for.

I do know how fortunate I am, even in the midst of all of this. I have my home in New Orleans where I am safe and comfortable. I have friends and family around me who are there for me and supportive. Everything I would need-groceries, pharmacy, bank post-office-is all closer to me here by bike than it would be in France.

Although I would feel safer in France, I know that if I were there I would be worried about my friends and family here. I learned that lesson when I was in Cadrieu when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005.

So, I'm shooting for Cadrieu again in the Spring of 2021. Of course, that all could change even then. But for now, I'm taking it all moment to moment and trying to make the most of this difficult situation.

I hope you are too!

We shall overcome!