Survivor's Guilt

Annie's comment about my post yesterday asked if I've experienced "survivors guilt" about not having lost as much in Katrina as a lot of people did. Survivor's guilt is absolutely something that is going around in the area, generally among folks who lived in areas close to the river that were untouched by flooding. I know a lot of people have put a positive spin on that by volunteering or otherwise getting involved with the recovery efforts.

Personally, I am well aware that a lot of people are worse off that I am. That said, we were pretty well and truly screwed too. We are lucky in that Mr. Nola kept his job and that friends and family have come through for us in ways we never thought we'd have to ask. Still, we lost almost all of our furniture - the good family antique stuff too - and our house is damaged to the extent that the repairs will cost about as much as rebuilding altogether would have. We have to borrow money to pay for what the insurance doesn't cover, and that's almost as much as my original mortgage.

Since the initial shock wore off, we try to focus more on what to do now to try and recoup as much as we can and resume our lives. We'll be okay. It's inspiring to see the amount of work going on around us. More people are committed to this city than you would think. In the long run, it will be a better place. It's a very long run though.