I have always tried to be a nice person – some days I get closer than others – and I like to think that God/the Universe/Karma is paying attention. We often refer to this as having a positive balance in the cosmic checkbook. And today I got one of those small rewards, a sign that I haven’t totally screwed up and that someone is paying attention.

It’s our last day of the grand birthday bash weekend. We got the latest possible flight home (nonstop at 9pm) so we could make the most of our short visit. A grand breakfast at the B&B of shrimp and grits was a great start. Then we were off to wander around the Garden District to see the great old homes. They ran the gamut from the former home of Anne Rice to the former home of Trent Reznor. We followed that wander with a stroll around Lafayette cemetery – apparently the oldest in the city. The above ground mausoleums seem odd to those of us from places where you can actually dig in the ground.   Some of them were better kept and others.

 

I liked the one decorated with an empty champaign bottle. I know it’s likely a leftover from underage drinkers partying after dark but I prefer to think of it as a final send off for a convivial wine drinker. 🙂

Then back to the French Quarter for one last hurrah and decided to get tickets for a steam boat jazz cruise on the Mississippi. While standing in line waiting to board, Frank noticed two familiar faces wander by: Bob and Helen Heald and Helen’a brother Steve. Steve is a new acquaintance but Helen and Bob are somewhat lost friends from VA whom we hadn’t seen in years. Not just ordinary friends though – Helen had been my kids first teacher as she did daycare way back when. Duncan and Jesse spent wonderful hours with this amazing woman who helped us cement the foundation for the fine adults my kids have become. As often happens, we got consumed with our lives and didn’t keep in touch very well, occasionally running into each other at store. But the ties run deep and as we marveled at serendipity and for caught up on the last several years over drinks as the banks of the Mississippi drifted by.

 

So we laughed, took selfies, shocked my kids, exchanged emails, and promised not to let this renewed relationship run dry. And I hope we don’t – we need to keep the Heavens (and us) smiling.