As the 5th Anniversary Approaches...

I have been watching bits of coverage here and there about the 5th anniversary of Katrina. I don't know how to express my feelings, other than to write a bit. I watch the videos and listen to the coverage and I am overcome with amazement at how much people can endure. I am reading the book Nine Lives by Dan Baum, I am almost done with it and it truly gives you such a sense of what the heart of NOLA is. What people endure and how they come out of it is truly amazing.

When we delivered supplies to Chicago Public Schools a week ago, I was amazed at the appreciation and the total heart that the staff at the schools put into each day. I wished I could have that same spirit. When faced with some of the worst parts of our society, racism, child abuse, and more, these wonderful educators continue on to make the best of what the day brings and to provide a smiling face to children who so desperately need it.

I am enduring my own struggles as we all do, and I wonder if I can be as strong as those who have survived so much, my own problems seem so minor when you look at what so many have had to overcome or succumb to. Yet none of us should diminish our own lives, we should take a bit of the courage we seen in others and step in and let it wash over us. As we move forward as New Orleans is, we should be able to harness the drive and motivation that has brought us all to where we are today.