It has been over a year and half since Hurricane Ike. I thought I had let that go. The house is complete and sold. I am making new friends and memories. However, the stress of something so life changing revisits unexpectedly. This time it was not me, but a friend. When he called and said his house was flooded, he said something that I completely identified with: "I know how bad it is! You can't do anything but laugh! It beats crying!..." Then came a weekend of hard physical and mental anguish and a week of tryng to finish cleanup while holding down a job. I identified totally....
On a happy note, many many young people are graduating all over the United States and 4 of them are in my family! We attended KP's graduation at McNeese State University and watched as she walked across the stage and received her diploma representing 5 years of dedication and hard work. Although, we tried to drive over to Beaumont to watch the Lamar graduates and my niece (CL), I only heard the cheering through my cell phone as she walked across the stage and received her diploma . Then we were treated by her fiance's family with a traditional crawfish boil celebration. My other neice and nephew will proudly receive their diplomas next week after 12 long years! It is unreal that my brother's kids are grown now. They all have promising lives ahead and I am so proud of them!
The crawfish boil was an adventure. It is only the second time in my life to eat those tasty little mudbugs. Believe me, I did not really want to have to clean my own, but that is part of it and if you do not clean your own, you do not eat! I ate maybe a tray of tails and closed my eyes when pulling that head off. Pretty soon I had the hang of it, slower than everyone else though. I watched some of my fellow eaters return 3 or 4 times to pile their tray and continue plopping those heads and casings into the bucket beside them. Honestly, my favorite part was licking my fingers when I was done. Yummy and spicy! It is a real treat to be part of a crawfish boil. Thanks DF's family for inviting us all!
