happy 1st birthday, miss junie-jean

yesterday, before my dad and i decided to get the hell out of new orleans AGAIN to avoid rita, my cousin came over to get the stuff she and her husband had left when they evacuated.

katie is 3 years older than i am. when i was 9, she was 12, and she lived with us for a summer when her parents were going through the roughest divorce in all of divorce history i think. (think lifetime movie here). but i resented her so much that summer because i needed my mom's attention and clearly, katie was getting it. (it was also the summer, mom announced she was pregnant with christopher... oh the chaos) but we've grown up a lot since then. i respect and admire her. she lives in this great apartment in the bend of bayou st. john with her husband. everytime i go over there, i think of the book "night jasmine" because the main character ends up living on the same street. her husband, justin, just earned his masters degree in english. they are a very hip and cool couple. combined, they have baskets of old records in their living room - beatles to billie holiday. deep down, i want to grow up to be katie in a few years.

katie and justin, have the most beautiful baby in the world. juniper jean windham. to us, she's junie. she's a pepper. pure spunk. sarah and i started babysitting for her this summer. no exaggeration - junie is the happiest child. ever. and i give her credit for bringing the cousins closer together once again.

it's hard to believe we've had junie in our lives for a year already.

katie and justin stayed at our house during katrina because they just didn't feel safe in their apartment overlooking the bayou. rightfully so. by the grace of God, some of neighbors made sure that they did not stay when the waters began to rise on tuesday after the storm. they made it to tuscaloosa via baton rouge. junie got sick in the hecticness, but they found a pediatrician who took good care of her when they were temporarily settled. whew. now they are back in baton rouge because justin got a job teaching english for LSU for a little while. just until they can come back to new orleans, he tells me.

3 weeks later, junie has grown up so much. she's repeating phrases, walking, giving high-fives. she even has a pair of new red mary-janes. she's still smiling away, as if nothing has happened, bringing a constant source of comfort and hope. she's not going to remember new orleans before the storm, or being carried through waist-deep water to leave my house, or sleeping in makeshift beds all over the southeast region as her parents got things settled. but katie and justin are going to bring her back to new orleans and she's going to grow up in a better city. i'm so excited for her.

here comes rita - our lady of prompt succor, pray for us.

talked to pammy today during the four minutes i get to be online. i needed the talk, the banter, the memories of garlic hummus in 204. she's been a trooper and come to mardi gras TWICE. she claims to be good with a hammer (and i can vouche for her) and has offered to help rebuild new orleans. done. but get this story: pam goes to the red cross - moved by what was happening in new orleans - to get whatever training she needs to be sent down here to help. they TURN HER AWAY because TECHNICALLY she's not a rhode island resident. (she's from new york, but living in providence) hm. tell me how that makes sense.

it's raining here in fairhope. i like to fall asleep when it's raining. i want to fall asleep and get rid of a lot of the heavy thoughts in my head. confessional matters perhaps, but i've gone to confession and that's supposed to make you feel better, right? i need to remember how to let go of the things i need to let go of. (insert serenity prayer here) now is as good a time as any. nothing like a hurricane (or two) to make you re-think some things you've done, decided upon, given up on, hoped for - and then keep an eye open for the next opportunity in it all.

i tell ya, patience is the name of the game right now. bring it on.