BYOC and remembering Rita...

It's Friday and you know what that means - yes? It's time for BYOC. Bring Your Own Crazy like your life depends on it! We answer a few questions to get to know each other better and to give our blogging brains a break. Copy to your own blog and ENJOY!!

1. If you were a character on Friends, who would you be and why? Probably a little bit of several: Monica, because, well I have control issues, especially with my household chores and cooking, Chandler, because I'm pretty quick witted and see things differently, Phoebe, because...I can be really ditsy sometimes and Ross and Joey...because I'm a geek who happens to be super cool! LOL! Not Rachel though.

2. If you weren't in your current career what other career do you think you would have done?
I'd like to be an actress.

3. What did you want to be when you grew up when you were 6? A movie star!

4. Do you think everyone only has one soul mate or true love? No, I believe that people come into our lives for a reason, that we are with them and love them when we are supposed to and then , we move on and love others. I believe that there are many opportunities for our souls to find a mate and for our souls to be nurtured. I have several of those people in my life.

5. Repeat question. Summarize your week in real life and in blog land. Blog land is buzzing with excitement as we get ready for Chicago! Real life is busy, it's homecoming week for my kids, we've had lots of preparation to get ready, parade, pep rally, tonight is the game and the dance is tomorrow. I'm excited about Chicago, but I'm a little bit of a reluctant traveler. So, I'm having my usual pre-trip anxiety when I travel alone. Other than that, I'm really excited to be going and to see everyone! Tomorrow is the 6th anniversary of Hurricane Rita, I've been thinking a great deal about how much my life has changed since then. I feel like I've been with my husband forever, we weren't even dating when Rita came. My boys and I had left my ex-husband a year before Rita, but we were still in the throws of nasty divorce proceedings. It was a time when I was so unsure of myself and I was faced with one of the biggest messes of my life. My boys and I lived in a tiny travel trailer for 15 months, we learned how to do without many things, we learned how important family is and how unimportant possessions can be. In the course of rebuilding my home, I rebuilt my life as well, I fell in love with the man who had become my best friend, I found strength, I found the blessing of true friendship and I found a new family. The last 6 years have been wonderful, not free of troubles and stress, we flooded again 2 years after Rita, but wonderful none the less. I'm so grateful for all the many blessings in my life. I'll leave you with a few pictures of my home one week after Hurricane Rita. I was staying with my boys in Houston and they allowed us to come into town for a "look and leave" day. I remember driving into town and feeling like it just wasn't real.

This is was my back patio, now there is a grapevine covered pergola where the tree once was,

many happy times have been had in this same spot!

This is what I saw when I drove up the street to my house,

the tree on the side was in my son's room.


And, this was my back door.

It's interesting to look back on that time. I wouldn't want to go through it again, but I certainly don't curse that time in my life. Nothing bad came from that experience. It really did enrich my life.

Happy Friday!

Big Hugs!

T