Wednesday February 10, 2021
I have heard it all. Excitement. Incredulity. Shock. From the “I wish we could do that!” ones to the “glad it’s not me - that sounds terrible!” folks. And just so you know up front, I’ve been on both sides of the fence. At times today, I was on the “this is miserable” side. The kind of side where I just wanted to be in my big bed at home and have my kids play with their friends. But the benefits outweigh giving up right now, so we will push on and find solutions for our frustrations.
Today was a rough school day. No one’s head was in the right place, and I know a lot of it is because we don’t have a routine or places to decompress as we learn to live on top of each other. But I pushed on. Because, let’s face it, we are here, 1,200 miles from home in swamp country- sugar cane country- alongside the Mississippi River to experience life a new way. And we all have to learn to embrace the crazy and see from a new perspective.
But what we can’t do at home when we have a bad day is explore some of the area around us that it culturally and geographically novel to our experience. For example, we don’t live in a swamp, so a swamp boat tour was just the thing to help us see our life from a new perspective. Of course, it wasn’t perfect, we left with little time to spare with our drive. So, with half filled water bottles, no backpack, no sweaters, no bug spray, and no dry clothes, not to mention that two of my three kids chose shorts and t-shirts (“because mom, it’s 65 degrees here! It’s like summer!”), we set off. The swamp tour itself was fantastic and exciting. We saw alligators in their natural habitat. We held a baby gator. We threw marshmallows to raccoons and crows. We were entertained by the history of the bayou by the wonderful Captain Danny. It was misty and cool (and mosquito-y), but not raining which was what was forecasted for the day.
Afterwards, we walked along the spillway for the Mississippi river that is opened every so often to divert water away from New Orleans and into Lake Pontchartrain. We learned that the infusion of fresh water wreaks havoc on the oyster farms, and learned about how the spillway was constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 30’s. We capped our day off with a meal at The Creole Cafe, where the kids fell in love with fried shrimp and catfish poboys, and bread pudding, which is a New Orleans specialty.
Not perfect, but what day is? Failure? Check! Adventure? Check!
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