Gratitude Challenge #23

Today, I am very, very, very thankful for the contractor who's building my parents' new home.

They bought their first house in 1964 when I was just 2 years old. It was a tract home in a new subdivision in Marrero, a suburb of New Orleans. Nearly all of the other neighbors buying into that subdivision were young families with young children and it was a time when neighbors got to know each other well.

All of the kids grew up together as friends as our parents went about the business of raising a family. The houses were renovated, added on to and changed as time went on. But the biggest change for that tiny neighborhood happened on May 3, 1978. That was the day of the "Great Flood." It rained like crazy that day and the pumping system which drains rainwater from the area failed. Most of Marrero (and a lot of other parts of New Orleans) flooded. The little red brick house had 18 inches of water, and my Mom was home alone when it happened.

After that initial flood, the house took on varying amounts of water 9 times in the next 26 years. Each time, my parents cleaned, replaced, repaired and did what was necessary to keep the little red house liveable. A lot of the neighbors didn't.

Then, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit. While the were evacuated, the house sat in about 6 inches of water for nearly 2 weeks. While it didn't seem like much, it was enough to send it to its ultimate demise: the foundation cracked. When they returned home, they cleaned and did some minor repairs to once again keep it liveable while they tried to decide what to do.

Jefferson Parish, where they live, started a program to help homeowners raise or rebuild their flood and hurricane damaged homes. After nearly 3 years of red tape, forms, meetings, setbacks and anticipation, their day came: they got the green light to start demolition of the little red house and construction of a new, raised, hurricane-resistant house that they can live happily ever after in.

The demolition happened in a day. Then the frenzy of the construction started. Today, they were told by the contractor that they're working hard to finish the house so that they can celebrate Christmas in it this year.

And I'll be there to celebrate the first Christmas in the new family home on Warwick Drive in Marrero.

So, many, many, many thanks to Hyman Bartolo, Jr. and all of his subcontractors for working so hard to give my parents a lovely new home to spend the rest of their lives in.

Until next time,

Kel