Today is Sarah's birthday and it is the 7-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Thank goodness Sarah and 2 of her 3 kids were here the day that Katrina blew into New Orleans and inundated her home. After all was said and done, the water covered all but the rooftop of her 3-story apartment. Sarah's apartment was on the ground floor. All of the official reports said that no one knew what was happening in Chalmette and that no one could have known. Yet - we knew. Sarah maintained cellphone contact with a neighbor who stayed. Everything was intact with no flooding throughout the worst part of the hurricane. The water started rising after they thought the worst was over. The levees had failed allowing unbelievable amounts of water to fill her neighborhood and her home. Try to imagine water to the rooftop of a 3-story building and hers was a ground floor apartment. She didn't cry but began planning. Her home was gone and her job was gone. Her children and Mother were safe - 2 here and 1 with her Mother in central Louisiana. The company Sarah worked for had locations elsewhere in Louisiana. Within a couple of days, she had a job in a new location, had the boys enrolled in school here, knew where there was room in a shelter, and was headed south to start over. Seven years later, her daughter is a sophomore in college, the boys are juniors in high school, and she owns her own home. Sarah is in her final semester at a college in her new hometown and will complete her Associate's Degree in December. The shelter was at a church and through all of the hard times and hard work, she found God.
Sarah - I am so proud of you. I love you and hope you have a wonderful day.
