Right now I'm in tears. Katrina is totally devastating so much of our country, yet others will be completely unaffected by this tragedy.

There is a woman that I know of through the Calling All Moms message boards on Weight Watchers that is from the New Orleans area. The other night she was worried about leaving because he husband was on a trip with some of their kids, but she was home with the baby. Luckily she had someplace with family to go.

This morning I've found out, through the lovely ladies on the board that have contact with her, that she did get out, but that where she is now may not be the safest with the path of the storm and there is a chance that she will have to leave there as well. Also, that she's seen where her house should be, on aerial shots on TV, and it doesn't seem as anything is left. I can not imagine how difficult it is for her and her family right now.

This past year I've had random reminders of how precious life is and how we take what we have for granted each and every day. This is yet another instance of that. If my part of the country we'll get rains, storms, maybe high winds, but this woman's whole life has been turned upside down. All of New Orleans is now under Martial Law and it will take a long time for things to get back to where they were, if they ever can.

It's also made me think of a girl I knew from college from New Orleans. I haven't had contact with her since 1998, but I immediately thought of her when the storm showed up on the news. I visited New Orleans in 2001 (I think that was the year) and loved it, such a beautiful city. It's a shame that it may never be the same again.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all those dealing with Katrina and her devastation.