8/15/23: This morning at 9:30, Kirsten left to pursue her dream of living in New Orleans. She will stay with Lain in Tallahassee tonight, and then drive the 5 1/2 hours tomorrow to her Air B&B tomorrow. She has it for a month, which should give her time to find a job and get settled. A friend is going with her that knows the terrain there, so we are hopeful that it will work out for her.

She has agreed to send me daily updates that I will post here. She also agreed to send lots of pictures of her adventures in The Big Easy. Those I will also post here for all to peruse.

Stay tuned!

8/16/23: She spent the night in Tallahassee, going to eat Mexican food with Lain. This morning she talked with her dad, finding out that NOLA is on Central time, so she will have an additional hour to look around the neighborhood. Here’s the place she’ll be staying at for the month:

We are aware that the entire family is skeptical about this move. It occurred to me this morning that Kirsten is who she is: she will be that person wherever she is physically present. Shouldn’t we all try to encourage her to be where she is happiest? I know – call me naive – but that is the attitude I will take until proven otherwise. Let’s be hopeful. If we can’t be hopeful, let’s at least give her a chance.

Here are the two gals in Tallahassee

8/20/23: Kirsten has been in NOLA for 5 days, but it feels like a month, at least to me. It’s been an exciting week for her with lots of things to see and feel. She starts work tomorrow at a restaurant, The Flamingo a Go Go. Now there’s a name. She’ll hostess until she gathers more physical and emotional strength to get through a work shift. Here’s a picture of the sign for the Flamingo a Go Go with Kirsten’s car across the street.

It feels like she is making progress, having dreams about being there in a past life, seeing horse-drawn fire engines racing past her on cobblestone streets. Dare I hope she is going to survive and thrive in her new mileau?

9/1/23: Time does fly when you are working, not having fun. Five days straight with significantly varying times makes me less than communicative.

She is doing well so far. Getting her act together, making smart decisions and taking absolutely gorgeous pictures. The girl has inherited the artistic gene from the Theed side, along with the madness. Here are some examples for your perusal.

Pictures from The Big Easy – Things seem to be going well there for her

Then there was the excitement of Hurricane Idalia – waiting to see if the house in Tallahassee was going to suffer damage. Fortunately it did not. Relief that one more assault on psyche and purse did not occur.

This week means looking for a job for Kirsten – maybe at a hospital now, either as a CNA or in the ER doing intake. At night. Picture that for a moment in your mind’s eye. NOLA on a Saturday night in the ER. Everything is copy, so there will be lots to write about, eh? We’ll try to spare you the photogs of those goings-on.

She plans to stay until November 16th in a new place, then come here for Thanksgiving. After that, it all depends on finances – mostly hers – and logistics of selling the Tallahassee house, maybe something happening with The Island, or her being more self supportive. But the bottom line is: she is getting healthier, stronger and more able to be a mum to Lain. Isn’t that what this is really all about? It’s good for me to, facing up to my own fears for and about her and hers. Guess we’re all starting to grow up a bit, yeah? Good things comin’.

9/1/23: More pictures from today – say what you will, but New Orleans is never dull – never has been, and likely never will. It was captured fairly early in the Civil War by the North. A dude named Butler was put in charge. The upstanding ladies in the French quarter would spit on Yankees passing by. Butler threatened that if this continued, they’d be labeled as the ‘hoors’ he perceived them to be. The spitting stopped, but NOLA was no easier to manage than before. Little bit of trivia for ya, there. Here’s the pix.