So far away from home...

We watched the international news in horror as they showed pictures of our home state being devastated by hurricane Katrina, and couldn't comprehend what we were seeing. Luckily, family from the area either evacuated ahead of time, or managed to ride the storm out with minimal damage. We're just glad everyone is safe. For Chris and I, it's incredibly sad to see the destruction to New Orleans because that is the city we got to know each other in. He would drive the 9 hours from Georgia to visit me, and we would spend 3 or 4 days there every couple of months, as often as we could over 2 years...before he was deployed to Afghanistan. That city will always hold some special memories for us.
Now, hurricane Rita has struck and we were all holding our breaths to see if it would hit Lafayette. As it is, some of our extended family lives in Abbeville, and I'm hoping their house made it okay. I can't fathom what kind of hardships the people of Louisiana have been facing over the last month, and can't wait to see my family again at Christmas. It's so hard being so far away...you feel so helpless...