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The Talk

Xy and I finally had the talk Sunday, on whether to stay here in New Orleans.

(At the beginning of the year, I said we’d discuss this toward the end of the year.)

It took less than five minutes. There really didn’t seem to be too much to say. Moving is a big pain, and we anticipate being preoccupied with birth and childrearing and such. And we still nurture some glimmer of hope for New Orleans. We both seemed to feel the same way.

So we’re staying.

For now.

For another year, at least. We seem incapable of planning ahead much further than that.

Published inLife with XyNew Orleans

17 Comments

  1. Civitch Civitch

    I have that conversation with myself every so often, but it ends abruptly when I realize that there is absolutely nowhere else I could stand to live.

    Glad you’re staying.

  2. alli alli

    I feel like I know y’all through your blog, and during my college-time (also in Indiana, but at that Catholic school in South Bend) your writings were hugely inspirational as I tried to convince my family of the merits of moving to N.O.

    So even though we’ve never met – I am very, very glad you are staying.

    Best of luck with your growing family!

  3. B, had a vivid, long dream about you last night, and, get this, it was NOT a sex dream. Not that you ain’t a sexy devil, as is your wife. In the dream, I was preparing to join some unknown people on a trip on a sailboat. I was absurdly disorganized and had no idea what I should take. I was afraid of saying, bringing or doing the wrong things. You were smiling, calm and knowledgeable, telling me I would be OK, “here, you’re going to need this,” etc. You kept reassuring me that no one was going to make fun of me. I’m so glad to know you are not leaving. I obviously think of you as a cool-headed touchstone to reality. You would be greatly missed.

  4. Deciding to start a family is such a tremendous act of hope in and of itself. Deciding to stick it out here seems like small potatoes in comparison. The bottom line is, you should always do what will be best for your family…. but New Orleans needs hopeful people.

    Also… I can’t see planning any more than a week in advance (if that) much less than a year.

  5. J.B. J.B.

    I am also glad y’all are staying… your clear-eyed civic-mindedness (and goofy sense of humor) would be missed by many loyal readers.

  6. Amy in Texas Amy in Texas

    I live in Houston and we’ve never met. I found your blog in January 2007 when my family was planning a trip to New Orleans for a wedding in April. I’ve always loved New Orleans, and the city still has a great feel and a great heart!

    I still check your blog every week or so — to see what is new with you and what’s happening in New Orleans from someone who’s living it every day.

    Here in Houston we have our own fallout from Katrina – there are still a lot of displaced people in our city. Some, including my next-door neighbors, have made a new life here and now call Houston their home. Some are still grappling with their options for returning – and some are filling our jails.

    Your blog has been an inspiration to me – I hope I would be as active as you have been in the rebuilding of my community if it went through what yours has been through. You and your wife seem like regular people and I’m glad to hear that New Orleans still has enough appeal that regular people want to raise their children there.

    So here’s a total stranger telling you congratulations on your decision, and wishing you a bright future and happy holidays!

  7. Eric Paul Eric Paul

    As a native of the Crescent Critter in its current ongoing incarnation (isn’t that an oxymoronic phrase) I can understand your apprehensions and your love of this city, and I agree, next to falling down a flight of steps with an anvil in my hands, moving, let alone cross country, is one of my favorite hobbies.

    As another poster said, we need people like you to stay in this ‘Petri dish’. It amazes me at times; the amount of ink that’s been spilled about this great social experiment of post KATRINA New Orleans. The city has a long way to go, and what will be writ in the years to come is anyone’s guess.

    Fortunately, I didn’t lose anything, yet I still feel scarred. I suppose I’m acting on the axiom, if one suffers all suffer (that from a cynical hermit – go figure).

    I like you and have for some time. As is, as a coming father to be, your life is in a most interesting state of transition (my daughter is 21, and a chip off my block-such as it is). Think of it, your child to come will be a native. That alone is worth the price of staying!

    LDS ~ Eppito

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