Eight days ago a devastating flood hit our city.

Since the roads became passable my wife has been itching for a way to get involved helping folks who have been flooded. This does not come as a surprise to anyone who knows her…

Our church is very centrally located and has been serving as a hub for the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams that are coming to the area to help. Virtually every time there is a disaster, the volunteers from SBDR are among the first on the scene to provide food and construction/demolition assistance. So, Peggy went to the hub and got herself assigned to a team.

I am always proud of my wife, but the work I have seen her do the past few days has been awe-inspiring. Going into these flooded houses to remove the debris and get them prepared for construction is a nasty business, and August in South Louisiana is not exactly a hospitable climate. But every day she goes and works her tail off to help.

Since today is Saturday, my son and I did not have to go to work, so we were able to go see the work Peggy has been doing. The need makes you want to cry, so the work provides an outlet for exertion over emotion. It is just amazing.

Today I saw my family help two families take the first steps to getting back on their feet for good. What makes it so cool is knowing that this is going on all over the city from thousands of people who were not flooded and just want to do something to help those that were. My son and his wife drove in from New Orleans to help, too.

This is how Louisianians respond. Help those who need help. My Texas girl is fitting right in.

Peggy and I got married in 1985. I’ll be generous and simply say Peggy’s parents were not thrilled with the idea.

We were both still in school. She had three semesters remaining as an undergraduate and I had four quarters of law school to complete. Both of us would finish in August of the following year. Her parents really wanted us to wait a year until we had graduated, but we had already waited two years longer than we wanted to wait.

Their reasoning was that Peggy would not finish school if we got married. Again, I think their reasoning was that they did not want her to get married to me. Otherwise, their fear showed a real misunderstanding of their own daughter. Nothing was going to stop her from graduating, not even the threat of withholding tuition money. In the end it was an empty threat — they paid for her entire education, and we were very thankful to them for that.

Marriage was actually a real boon to her grades. When we were dating we would stay out too late just because that was the only way we could spend time together. Once we were married we could go to bed at a normal hour since I didn’t have to take her home.

In the three semesters we were married she had a 4.0 GPA. It almost made up for the fact that I had almost flunked her out of college as a freshman, but that is a story for another time.

Entering the summer of 1986 Peggy needed fifteen hours to graduate. Baylor only allows students to take twelve hours in the summer. I had already been offered a job in Dallas starting on September 2, so if she could only take twelve hours she would have to drive back and forth between Dallas and Waco for a semester to take one class (this was in the days before online classes were an option — “online” didn’t exist yet).

Peggy went to the Dean of the business school and asked for an exception. He graciously allowed her not only to take fifteen hours but to substitute a class for another required class that was not available in the summer. Undeserved grace, but it does help when you have a 4.0 GPA in your major.

As I was sitting in the house today watching it rain (and rain and rain) and watching the reports of flooding here in Baton Rouge, the pictures below popped up as memories. And generated a million other memories.

Peggy graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration thirty years ago today. In some ways it seems impossible that it was thirty years ago. In other ways it seems impossible that it was only thirty years ago.

Her parents were wrong about her. And me. But they made it all possible.

Peggy did the rest.

Tonight Peggy and I went out to dinner to celebrate our 31st anniversary. Our anniversaries are generally pretty happy, and cool, because we celebrate many of them in Colorado.

It is a great tradition that started on our honeymoon, and it works out that just about every year we are ready to get out of the heat for a week and enjoy some cool weather. This summer we have been lucky enough to get plenty of cool air and mountain time, but it is still a special treat to celebrate up here.

Today we went for a hike and saw an abandoned mine, then we went to Sapphire Point for an annual photo op. We go to the Point every year because it is an amazing vantage point from which to see Lake Dillon and the surrounding area. It doesn’t hurt that it is also a stunning place to take a picture.

We always try to go out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. We have one or two places that usually end up being the “spot”. It is kind of cool to know a place so well that you know exactly where you want to spend a special occasion. Dinner tonight was great, then we went back to the condo to hang out on the back porch.

Does it get any better than sitting on the deck in August and needing a jacket or a blanket?

We sat outside tonight and talked about the trip and the memories we have created this summer. Each year when we visit it feels like the end of the summer, even though we will have two more months of high temperatures when we return home. This trip is the symbolic close to our summer, so we frequently sit outside and reminisce about the things that have occurred. In many ways it has been a tough year, but coming here always seems to make us remember the good things that have happened, as well. It is a great reminder to give thanks for all of the things that happen to us.

Happy Anniversary, Peggy. I would do every step of it over again. But I’m even happier just to keep moving forward with you.

We were in Colorado Springs until Thursday and then had to fly to Calgary on Saturday. It didn’t make any sense to me to fly back to Baton Rouge and then fly to Calgary, so we had a layover. We rented a car and drove to Keystone to spend two days with our friends. It doesn’t hurt that they have a washer and dryer, either.

We have been friends with Jim and Cindy for many years, and we stay in their place each summer when we come to Colorado for vacation. Sometimes fate intervenes and allows us to be up here when they are. We take advantage of that whenever we can.

Two days isn’t a lot of time for sightseeing, but that is the advantage of coming to a place we already know. We were able to jam everything that we wanted to do into these two days, especially since the weather was cooperative. We rode bikes, we hiked, but mostly we spent time with great friends that we just don’t get to see enough of since we moved away from Katy.

Our trip back to Keystone for vacation in a couple of weeks will be more complete because we got to see Jim and Cindy now.

I always say there is nothing better than being in a place you love with people you love. This layover was living proof of that.

Peggy and I go to the mountains each summer, but this year we are experiencing an embarrassment of riches. Our personal and work lives coincided to give us three (almost) consecutive weeks in the high country this year.

We are currently in Colorado Springs for a work event. This is followed by a trip to Lake Louise for another work outing. Then our traditional trip to Keystone for vacation. Through nothing other than kismet the three trips are back-to-back. We left Baton Rouge on Monday and will basically be back on August 5 — we will be home for a few days in between to wash clothes and pack before we leave for vacation.

Colorado Springs is beautiful and the weather is pretty hard to beat for July, especially compared to Louisiana at this time of year. We are attending a retreat for the Board of Directors of my company, so it is a work trip. We have meetings each morning and then events with the Board in the afternoon or evening. Before I joined the company spouses did not come along on this trip. I asked if Peggy could come with us as long as I paid for her to travel, and next thing you know spouses were invited on the trip. You never get anything unless you ask.

Last night we went to a dinner at Seven Falls, and tonight we finished up with a cookout at a dude ranch. Both places were amazing and totally different. We were with great folks in a beautiful setting. This is work?

It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it.

Waco.

I have a feeling most people never heard that word until a little TV show called “Fixer Upper.”

My Texas girl went to college here. We lived here for the first year after we were married while she finished school and I worked as a youth minister at a small church.

Today I did something I can honestly say I never thought I would do. I left the Island to drive to Waco. Because Chip and Joanna.

Who are these people and what have they done to my wife?! It was interesting when the show came on and we knew some of the couples. It was cool when they worked with an old friend of ours making furniture for them. We got sucked in like the rest of ‘Merica.

It’s basically a hundred miles up to Waco from the lake, so we made the trip. I have to admit, it was pretty great to see what they have accomplished, and Waco looks a whole lot better than when we lived there thirty years ago. I also can’t believe they bought those rusty old silos and didn’t clean them up, but that is another topic altogether…

We made the pilgrimage. We made our offering at the altar and left with a hat and a t-shirt. The Baylor girl left happy.

And we still got to go back to the Island.

The year is 2008.

My son went off to college in August of 2007, and Peggy and I embraced the roll of empty nesters. Within a month of his departure we made trips to New York and Las Vegas (Mike’s observation — “You guys suck!”) as well as multiple trips to Baton Rouge. Once Mike went to LSU, Peggy somehow became a big football fan. Go figure.

Valentine’s Day. I decide to do something romantic and find a hideaway with a remarkable view (Peggy’s delight). Searching online I discovered an unusual spot called The Island on Lake Travis outside of Austin, TX. The online photos were almost unbelievable, so I thought it would be a perfect place to check out.

Strep throat. Not particularly romantic, but we went anyway. I figure if you feel like crap and you still enjoy a place it must be pretty good. We have been going back to the Island ever since (and eight years later I still cannot recommend it highly enough!).

Mother’s Day approaches. About three weeks out it occurs to Peggy that Mike will not be home for Mother’s Day since it falls during finals. Suddenly the empty nest actually feels a little empty.

I decide to book a cruise out of Galveston for the two of us to get away and for her to be able to think about something other than a Mother’s Day without her son. We have an absolute blast. A tradition is born.

It is now 2016 and for the first time these two traditions that started in 2008 are going to be married. That’s right, we are staying at the Island for the entire week of Mother’s Day! Two great tastes that go great together — how did we not think of this before?!

I’m pretty fired up about it, so I am sure this will not be the last celebratory post…

We did not move to Baton Rouge because my son was living here. In fact, before I even interviewed with the company I called him and made sure he would be OK with it.

Still, there have been real advantages to being in the same city. We were here to participate in the planning and execution of his wedding last year. And house-sitting help is pretty easy to find when we are traveling. And Mama kind of likes having him nearby.

Today we helped his wife and him move to New Orleans. Well, Kenner, bruh.

When you are a parent of an adult you don’t ask too many questions — like “Why are you moving to New Orleans when you both have jobs in Baton Rouge?” So we keep our mouths shut and help them move instead of me asking him “You do realize your mother just buried her mother less than a month ago, right? NOW is the time you pick to leave?”

But you don’t ask, you just help. And pray for the best.

And go to Middendorf’s for fried catfish and a really cold beer on the “way” home (it’s not really on the way)…

We raised him to have his own mind. Even when we don’t understand it.

So, when we moved back to Louisiana my beautiful wife was looking for something to do that would not tie up her time too much and take her away from seeing her mother. We did not know it at the time, but Louisiana has become quite a hub for the entertainment industry. Peggy is a lovely lady, so it did not take long for her to begin being cast in background roles in movies and on TV. It’s not glamorous work but it is fun for her and she gets paid a little bit for doing it.

She has worked with some really big names and gotten to know some very interesting people, but she has not yet had a speaking role in a project. That all changed today!

There is a wonderful feature film being made here in Baton Rouge and Peggy has a small role in the project. The film is currently entitled “Beautifully Broken” and is the true story of the family of one of my closest friends. When they decided the US filming was going to take place in Louisiana, my friend Randy asked Peggy to be a part of the cast playing his wife’s sister. It isn’t the soda counter at Woolworth’s but it’s still pretty cool.

We spent today, Palm Sunday, filming her part in the movie and hanging out with Randy and his wife, Darla. It takes a long time for a film to be made so it probably will not come out until sometime in late 2017 or 2018, but Peggy’s first speaking role is officially in the can. You pick up the lingo when you’re on the set…

Life is funny. We buried Peggy’s Mama less than two weeks ago, and now here we are creating a life-affirming moment with dear friends to share with the world. Maybe I should say God is funny because He is the only one who could put these pieces in place.

And I’m ready for the actress to start supporting me in the lifestyle to which I have become accustomed.

That is today’s date. This is today’s location…

I had to be in Lake Charles for work yesterday and today, and today it is 84 degrees and we are at the pool. It is completely perfect.

I do not share this to torment those of you in cooler climes (though that does sound like something I would do). In fact, if you choose to live where it is cold a majority of the time, in the immortal words of Billy Joel, “Go on and cry in your coffee but don’t come bitchin’ to me.”

I actually am sharing this so that I will be able to remind myself in August when the inevitable string of 95/95 days (you know, 95 degrees with 95% humidity) hits, that there was a time earlier this year when the weather was perfect, I was sitting in and by the pool with this gorgeous lady, and everything was awesome.

If you do want to feel tormented, though, please feel free…