One of my New Year's resolutions...

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to balance my time better between myself, my husband, and my family. And I must admit it's going well. So when my husband said he needed to be in New Orleans on business tied in with Mardi Gras and asked me to go with him I said sure! It began as a 4 day trip (perfect), but then he thought it would be a good idea to tack on a couple extra days after business was over to just hang out and relax. Hmm, ok, 6 days now (you sense my hesitance don't you). When you factor in the recovery time one needs upon returning home from 6 days in New Orleans over Mardi Gras you�re now up to about 9 days off. So much for balance. Anyway...

It was my first Mardi Gras and, well, all I can say is OH MY! Who knew? I thought it was all about party-crazed people drinking in the streets and flashing for plastic beads (a curious tradition). Well actually, that is a big part of it, but all kidding aside, the attraction to Mardi Gras is a much bigger deal than I would have ever guessed. There is a parade every day for 2 weeks (this is a long celebration) and two of those parades have a celebrity monarch every year. This year Hulk Hogan (who doesn't love this guy?) reigned as the King of Bacchus and Kevin Costner (yeah, he doesn't suck either) as the king of Endymion. Families stake out and camp in their places on the streets days beforehand to watch these parades. It's a huge event and generates tons of much needed funds for the city.

The festivities were all really fun of course, but the biggest impression was made when we toured the areas devastated by Katrina. It's one thing to see it on TV, but driving through it and seeing all the families still living in tents on the side of the road has an entirely different impact on a person. The leak in my roof that I needed to attend to when I got home no longer seemed like such an overwhelming task. Nor did the rest of my to-do list that I knew was growing by the hour as I was enjoying my 6 days in Cajun country. (As I expected, on the 4th day hubby says, what was I thinking? We probably should've gone home today.)

On the plane heading home I didn't think about what I had to do when I got there, but instead I basked in the glow of what I got to experience in New Orleans and reflected once again on all I have to be grateful for . Then I fell asleep! Mardi Gras is exhausting. Loree