The Lake House

It was so nice this weekend to go to the Lake House for Memorial Day Weekend. It is funny that people go to Lake Houses, camps, or whatnot to get away and do nothing. Immediately upon arrival, my family was invited to a Margarita Party the next night. Also, we were invited to a Crawfish Boil. It was the beginning of our stay and we had an agenda. But, it’s not about really not doing anything. It’s about having fun and enjoy each other’s company.

The Lake House is not 100% finished being built, but there is electricity now, which means it has air conditioning and is livable. Being from South Louisiana, air conditioning is not a luxury, it's a necessity especially in the months ahead. A few months ago before electricity, we stayed at the Lake House to help move things along. Although the weather was comfortable during the day, I was a human popsicle the next morning. But, now, it is around 92 degrees during the day.

Anyway, now the end is visible, and I can only imagine how wonderful it will be when we can go out on the lake. If you have never gone to the lake and stayed in a cabin, I highly suggest that you do. When you do, set your alarm clock for around 6am (I know this is early, but you have to do it.), make some coffee, and then enjoy your coffee on the porch. There is nothing better than the sounds of nature waking up in the morning. If you get up earlier, you may catch sunrise, and even more of a bonus if your porch allows you to see the sun rise over the trees. This in itself is so relaxing.

The Lake House belongs to my parents and is being built to be a place for fun and relaxation, but also to be a place to evacuate from hurricanes. Six years ago this August, Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the New Orleans area. Living here meant we had around eight feet of water in our home. Our entire family lived in St. Bernard Parish, which means our entire family was uprooted for over six months without a solid place to live. We moved from place to place for awhile. I was in my senior year of college at the time intended to graduate December of ’05 which I managed to do somehow, but it was the most difficult time of my life to say the least. We thought we had lost a lot. And we did when you think of the home movies of my brother and I growing up, the childhood memories stuffed in photo albums or on bookcases. We saved some things, but many priceless possessions washed away with the breech in the levee. We learned that most of what we lost although devastated us at the time is meaningless now. When I leave for a hurricane now, I still have a car packed, but I know whatever I leave behind is not the end of the world. It can be replaced. It is a pain in the rear end to do over, but I learned to separate things into necessities and replaceables. Also, I learned to always have pictures on either SD cards or CDs, and take pictures of everything in your house before you leave (It makes the insurance process much easier.)

I didn’t mean to make this post about that witch Katrina, but I guess it helps to know some history about what made me who I am today. So, feel free to leave comments about how you spent your Memorial Day weekend. I love hearing about others’ vacations. :o) Happy Memorial Day!

Some pics of Lake that used to be a log farm back in the day now prime fishing lake: