Connie McLeod
Before and after Katrina is how we mark time down here in Louisiana. We just passed the eight-year anniversary of that milestone hurricane. The lives we knew were washed away when the levees broke. For my high school friend, Karen and me, it marked the washing away of our long-term marriages. My husband moved out the week before the hurricane and Karen moved out of her home, the week after. We found our friendship in the storm’s aftermath and often clung to each other for support.
We both realize the women we were back then wouldn’t recognize the women we are today. Eight years ago, newly single with a teenage daughter, I was expecting to be laid off from my job. While that did not happen, it made me question what I did want to do. I tried out a home-based business giving wine tasting parties (a lot of fun, but I drank all my profits). That led me to get over my fear of pubic speaking, which led me to becoming president of my professional club, which led me to giving workshops on creativity, which led me to start a design business with my sweetie, which led me to discover new talents and strengths. Most importantly I learned to let go of fear and to embrace things outside my comfort zone.
Karen left her affluent world and empty marriage to find meaning in her life after her kids had grown. She moved back to her hometown, to family and friends who were critical of her decision. She went from moving in with her mother, to a crummy first apartment, to a nicer apartment, to buying a house, to renovating that house and making it a new home. Her small job with an old family friend grew as his company was bought and sold and bought and sold. It is now part of the largest engineering company of its kind in North America. With each evolution of the company, Karen’s job has grown and she’s moved up the corporate ladder. She’s now moving to the center of business for the Eastern region. All of her strengths have come out and are shining brightly.
Karen’s moving up North…to Nashville. Her moving is bittersweet. We are recognizing that we are closing a chapter in our lives. Her renovated home has a For Sale sign in front and boxes are waiting for the movers. The days of dropping by each other’s homes or creating a spontaneous adventure are over as we know it. Our friendship will shift and change.
I was just in New Orleans for a fun romantic weekend with the man I’ve been in a loving relationship with for four years. After the levees broke, I believed that city would never be the same. I was right, but not how I imagined it. I would never have imagined that young people would “flood” the city post-Katrina with their new innovative entrepreneurial spirit. These newcomers wanted to be a part of reinventing their lives while reinventing this old drowned city. They’ve embraced the unique, creative, funky culture and infused it with a new vibe. The dark depressive cloud that hung over the city has blown over. Arts, music, food, business, housing, education are now infused with this new spirit as new ideas and new ways of doing things are happening. And the wonderful, live-and-let-live-with-a-go-cup-in-hand New Orleans spirit is still embraced; it didn’t wash away.
Karen and I shopping together at the Farmer’s Market and cooking up an adventure.
Like the Crescent City, Karen and I have reinvented our separate lives. We haven’t ignored our past, but we’ve grown and built on it. We’ve moved past our after-Katrina chapter. We’ve rebuilt our levees, hopefully strong enough to withstand future storms.
I’ve learned to flow with the current that my life leads me to. It sometimes takes a storm to push us in a new direction. It’s good to occasionally take time to look back at how far we’ve come. I’m grateful for where my journey has taken me. I’m going to miss my friend, but I’m also looking forward to where new travels will take us.