We evacuated ahead of the storm, myself, husband, baby and two family friends. My 2 other children were staying with my ex-husband (with whom I shared joint custody) that weekend and he evacuated them. We converged in Lafayette, LA and it soon became apparent that we would not be able to return home for quite some time. Our only choice at that point was to make our way to Tennessee to stay with family. After a long drive, made more difficult by widespread hurricane damage on our route and limited gasoline supplies, we finally made it. We stayed with family for 4 months, and while we were vastly more fortunate than those who had no place to go except a FEMA shelter, it was difficult particularly for my 16 yr old daughter and 13 yr old son, who had lost most of their possessions in our flooded home, and would not be able to see their father for 2 months. They adjusted as well as could be expected, and did make some friends during the time we spent in Tennessee. But, the worst part for all of us has been the long-term effect. With our house flooded, insufficient flood insurance, no real means to rehab our home, and no job for my husband to return to, we had to make the difficult decision to resettle elsewhere, and my husband accepted a job in Texas. Not wanting to further disrupt and uproot the children\'s lives, I returned them to live with my ex-husband (who lived in a relatively undamaged area in the New Orleans suburbs), so they could have some stability and return to their old school and friends. They will likely be living with him from now on. As much as I miss New Orleans, I miss my children more. The distance makes joint custody impossible, and the 11 hour drive between our house and theirs makes frequent visits equally impossible. I can\'t afford to fly them here every 2 weeks. So, we\'ve been reduced to maintaining contact by phone and email, and there are no words to describe how insufficient that is. I feel guilty for not being there, for the little things I miss, for the time I don\'t spend with them. Although our new life in Texas is good in many ways, it is still empty, incomplete and sad.