Back Home and in the Swing

We got back from New Orleans a week ago, and slowly life has resumed it's normal pace. Or, quickly, maybe I should say, as it seemed the second we arrived through the door there was laundry to be done, bills to sort through, floors to clean. It feels good to be back home, though; it feels good even to be doing all of the normal, everyday chores. It was great to be away visiting family, but the routine of life changes a lot when one is out of town, and that routine can provide some comfort in a crazy world. My husband's mother is suffering the beginning stages of Alzheimer's and it's a horrible thing to behold. Once a strong, very intelligent woman with a wry sense of humor, her mind is beginning to fail her a bit, and she's living in a nursing home due to the need for around the clock care. His father tried very hard to take care of her, but the task was too demanding for him as she cannot maneuver herself around the house anymore and was having difficulty eating as well. Leaving the nursing home, I was struck by the grim reality that we need to do the things we want in our lives as soon as possible, whether our desire is to travel, create artwork, raise chickens, whatever. We might be spry as a leprechaun when we're 80 years old (if we make it to 80), but we could just as easily be feeble and half blind.

New Orleans was wonderful, as always. In the past I've found it to be a city full of magick and high energy and this trip was no exception. We stayed there for just two days-the first day we were in Louisiana before heading north to stay with my husband's family, and the day before we flew back to Florida. The last night we were there we took a carriage ride around the French Quarter, listening the whole time to the driver's narrative of the history of the city. New Orleans is indeed a city that has suffered much loss, which I suppose is the reason for all of the ghosts who haunt her streets and alleyways. She is also a city whom many artists call home, where people who are just a little different from the "norm" can find a nook where they feel comfortable. She has a sweetness not unlike the night blooming jasmine that perfumes the air during her sultry evenings.

I will miss her!