Hot Mess Mom » Family, Food, Travel » Do you know what it means…
Do you know what it means…
To miss New Orleans?
Walking down the riverfront and this lovely gentleman seranades me with “Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?”. Yes. Yes I do.
I love this city. I love this city with all of my heart. It is my blood. It is my heritage. It is my culture. It is my family.
I come from a HUGE family. My father was one of 10 children. I am the 5th of 40-something grandchildren. There are 30+ great grandchildren. Baby #111 was born 3 weeks ago. Everyone is close. Spiritually, emotionally and geographically. I have 6 cousins and 2 aunts that live within walking distance of each other. In a portion of the city that was completely underwater and devastated by Katrina. It took years, but they rebuilt. They rebuilt their homes, their community and their lives.
Being here makes me happy. Wonderfully, blissfully happy. And a tiny bit sad. A little sad that my boy aren’t growing up the way I did. With 50 person dinners and cousins as their classmates. That is why I try so hard to come here at least twice a year. My boys love it too. They embrace the family. They embrace the city. They LOVE the French Quarter. My boys are Quarter rats…. They want to spent at least a portion of every single day in the Quarter. Walking, listening to music, eating…. and that is great with me because I have no greater joy than watching the river, listening to a horn being played in the background, sipping on a bloody mary and watching the cargo ships come in.
Today we are going to the zoo. The Audobon Zoo in New Orleans is one of the top zoos in the country. It is beautiful. And, of course, you can get a cocktail and some redbeans and rice. This afternoon, we are meeting some of my cousins, aunts, and cousins’ kids at the park. Where I will watch my boys climb the same trees I climbed as a girl. And feed the same old ugly ducks. It’s wonderful to watch. It makes me happy to know that I’m giving them some of the same memories that I have of my childhood. They may not grow up here, but they will have that. And that is pretty great.
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Here are some pics from the past few days.. I love my life.
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I.GET.THIS. Really, I do. My greatest memories are with my family, cousins, Aunts/Uncles, Parents, brother (did I just admit that?)~ all while gathering in upstate NY. My heart is there…in the mountains…with family and chaos and large dinners…Thanks for “taking me there” this morning…through your souls content in N’Orleans…I love that your family is that grande! xo
I know exactly how you feel. I love our community so much, but when it comes down to it, I miss home more than anything. Plantation is no New Orleans, but home is home.
Dont be surprised if you see people stalking you at the Audubon zoo or in the Quarter. I know we’d be best friends. I just have to find you and stalk you until you give in…
Just kidding, I’m too lazy to stalk anyone in real life.
your laziness is proof that YES we would be!!
Look for the HMM tshirt… it’s a dead giveway
wow.. look how nice you used to be….
I have no point of reference here, having never had a “home” base as such. I wonder if my kids will look back on their hometown in the same way…it’s hard to imagine, but this is where our blood family is, and our neighborhood family is, so maybe. We’ll see.
this is my favorite post