WE ARE HOME AND MOST OF US ARE BACK TO THE RAT RACE

Well, we made it home.  We were ok for most of the trip until we got around Kankakee and then we hit ice.  That was fun!  Not really.  We left New Orleans around 5 AM and got home around 9ish at night.  It was a very very long day.  I was really glad to get out of the car and I can only imagine how anxious Keith and all of the other drivers were.  

I have not processed in my brain all of the great feelings I have about the trip.  My emotions ran high and low.  I was so happy to see that New Orleans is better this year than last year.  It seems cleaner and more houses are either done or in the process.  I'd say it's about time.  Our teams were more organized (thanks Steve) and had a clear direction as to what had to be done.  We had the necessary supplies and if not it was just a short time before they were there.  Last year we spent quite a bit of time standing around and that was wasted time.  This year the "advance man" had it so that we just walked in and worked.  How perfect!  

There are a lot of statistics about how many square feet of various stuff we worked with but I don't have that info written down.  I will try to get it for you.  It is truly awsome!  We did do work on 14 houses and that means that we got 14 families closer to being back in their homes.  The fear is that people will tire of hearing about the Gulf Coast and forget how much work still needs to be done.  I pray that that doesn't happen.

Getting back to my "real" job today felt so different from what I have been doing.  I wish I could afford to spend more time in New Orleans and get further in the project.  But, alas, money has to be made to pay the bills.  Maybe when I retire I can give more time to what my heart has been telling me I should be doing.  If the economy picks up I can retire but until then I will spend my week every January doing my small part.

I am going to download some pictures tonight.  

Peace and love to you all

Ginny