After weeks of waffling between cold rains and random warm days, it seems like summer is pretty much officially here in DC. We’ve had a stretch of days with temperatures into the 80s, humidity first thing in the morning, and hot breezes into the late evening. Here we go!

Summers hold some of the best memories for people everywhere, whether you get them off, or slog through them with some breaks in between. Summers are chock full of things to do and memories to be made. Here are a few of my favorite summer moments from over the years…what are some of yours?

• Summers in Louisiana: Hot boiled crawfish spilled all over newspapers on the picnic table, and a spearmint snowball in my hand to cool off. Boat rides down the Blind River and jumping in the swamp until I realized that I could die from an alligator or snake bite. Riding my bike into the sugar cane fields with my cousin and then getting an iced treat (pushpop, popsicle or fudgepop) from MaMa’s freezer. Trips to Blue Bayou waterpark.
• Vacations with my parents: Europe in 1996, a Carribbean cruise in 2001, Wrigley Field in 2003.
• Adoption Day: July 3, 2001 (10 years this summer!)
• College summers: News internships in Cincinnati, Springfield, and Columbus, Ohio. Rascal Flatts and James Taylor concerts.
• DC summers: More concerts. Jazz in the park. Colonial Williamsburg. Tiger Woods. Wedding back at my alma mater. Wrigley Field. Two moves. Fireworks. Baseball. Breakup. New friends.

But boy do I love those Saints right now.

For those of you that know a little about me, it makes sense that if I were to root for any NFL team, it would be the Saints. Born in Louisiana, it didn’t matter that I moved to Texas at five, and then Ohio at the age of seven – there was no way I was going to become a Bengals fan. As much of my family are die-hard LSU fans, many are die-hard Saints fans, even when they were the Aints. But for me, a mostly non-fan of the NFL, my Saints’ fandom was sparse, more of a check-in here and there to make sure they were still out there, still kicking. Besides, they don’t really show Saints games in Ohio.

But today, the Saints are playing in the Superbowl. And I am a fan. I am even throwing a party, my first Superbowl party ever, complete with gumbo and king cake. Last year, I fell asleep on the couch during the big game. This year, I will be rooting until the very last seconds, because those Saints have a way of coming back when you least expect it.

Just like the people of New Orleans have since Katrina.

I wasn’t in Louisiana for Katrina, and fortunately, most of my family escaped unscathed, except for some power outages, downed trees, a flooded apartment and drowned car. My family was all safe. But all these years later, not just post-Katrina, but years and years after I left the state that I called home, I still get a tingly feeling thinking about how a football team has brought back the spirit to a city that was drowning, a city that was crying out for help, for someone to save them.

And the Saints came marching in.

When I see my family rallying around this team, when I see the packages on ESPN with Bourbon St. revelers, jazz in the background, Harry Connick Jr. and other NOLA natives choking up over this special moment, it hits me right smack in the middle of my heart. It’s like they say in the movies, with a twist: you can take the girl out of Cajun country, but you can’t take the Cajun out of the girl.

The Saints may win today, and they may lose. Tomorrow, my thoughts may already be on baseball’s spring training and my Cubbies. But for today, I am enthralled by the spirit of the Saints, and the spirit of the people that love them for bringing life back into their city.

Update: The Saints win their first Superbowl!! Who dat!!

This past weekend I went down to good ol’ Lutcher to participate in Relay for Life with the Roussels. This year, we were recognizing several survivors, as well as memorializing family members who have passed from cancer. Importantly, my aunt Rodie is 2 years cancer-free. Her husband, Bozo, recently had a bout with some basal cell on his back, and is now healing. Other family members are doing fine after incidents they’ve had.

As usual, I was glad to spend time with the family down there, and of course, eat all the yummy foods I like. I had my shrimp po-boy, boiled crawfish, and some other goodies. But really, just spending time with my family was most important because of how hard it is to get down there these days. I no longer am guaranteed to attend the Roussel pre-Christmas gift opening in December, and I can’t make all the weddings anymore. With me living in DC, going home to Cincinnati has become priority, and the rest of the year I’m making choices on flights between going home or seeing Dan. This time, I paid a high price, but it was worth it. I don’t know when I’ll see them all again – hopefully not another full year from now.

Despite the many differences between my life and that of my family in Louisiana, I cherish the moments I do get to spend with them. I try to avoid talking politics and some moral issues we differ on. I try to look past some of the small-town thinking that is still prevalent down there, and recognize that we’ve had different experiences. I left the state at 4 years old, and have since lived in three other states. I also have been exposed to a different education, culture, and work life, especially now, with the international development work I am involved with at UNF. In the end, they’re family and that’s what matters.

Now that I’m back at work, things are still busy as we lead up to World Malaria Day, which is Saturday. It’s the busiest time of year at UNF, so things will continue that way until the summer. In other notes, this weekend I’m attending my first Indian wedding, for my friend from my old job. I’m excited to go with all my girlfriends. I know it will be a blast! We’re also going to see our friend Jacqueline’s baby for the first time!

I’m really counting down to June. That’s when Dan comes – and it cannot come any sooner. This will be the first time in awhile that we go so long without seeing each other – it will be 2.5 months by the time June rolls around, from when he was here in May I’m looking forward to all the the things we already have planned – baseball games, a soccer game, probably a concert, and some other stuff. And it’s just nice to have him around every day for a couple of months. Bigger than that, it means he only has one more year of law school left, and we’re that much closer to being together after that. First comes the bar though, I guess. That will be rough. And of course, the Big Question: where will we be in a couple of years? Time will tell…

The Biggest Loser makes me cry. And it makes me want to take action every time I watch it. 5 pounds shouldn’t be THAT hard right?

-sushi for dinner
-my weekly dose of Grey’s Anatomy
-still feeling awesome about my long run yesterday and looking forward to doing it again this weekend
-knowing I have trips to Louisiana and home booked for the next two months
-pepperidge farm white chocolate macadamia nut cookies
-talking to my mom
-a good, long nap

What about you?

This time, when it was time to get out, most people did. This time, people (my family included) added text messaging to their cell phone plans so that even if they couldn’t call, they could send a message to reassure loved ones of their safety. This time, the Saints went marching out well before the storms hit – and no one was allowed to use their home, the Superdome, either.

But this time, despite power outages for more than 800,000 homes, and despite giant oak trees hundreds of years old toppling to the ground like jenga blocks, things are “okay.”

I’m so thankful. Now if only CNN would take heed to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s warning that this is not an overnight process. It’s not over yet. Then why does the top stories list have not one single story about Gustav? Unbelievable.

I am thankful.