After spending a total of three weeks in Baton Rouge away from my family, my home, everything. I finally left my temporary home at my boyfriend\'s house to return back to my parent\'s house in Mandeville, LA. I had left on the Friday before Katrina hit to go to Baton Rouge to visit/party with my friends who were at college at LSU. Unknowingly of any hurricane I woke up Saturday morning to total disarray on the news and throughout the town. I called my mom and she told me to stay put in Baton Rouge and that they were last minute packing up our 3 animals and heading to Picayune,MS to my grandparents house where they housed about 15 other family members and 8 other household pets. Needless to say I was relieved to not be there. \r\nSo finally after the roads were being cleared and it was considered \"okay\" to return home, I took I-12 and headed back to Mandeville. I texted my mom before I left to notify her I was heading back and would be there the about the same time as them (so I thought). No phone calls could still be made at this time. \r\nMy parents live two blocks off the lakefront so we all had our reservations about what condition our house was in. It took me about 3 hours to get to back my house. Normal time is about 50-55 minutes. I drive into Old Mandeville which was a pitch black that is indescribably strange and chilling. Arriving at my house I couldn\'t even get through the front door due to a large tree branch blocking the staircase leading into my house. I walk up the driveway and hear the loud generator and make my way into my doors open, windows open, everything aired out. I walk in and see candles everywhere and the antique Jesus hands my mom put on the counter before they left to protect our home. Even though we had been through beyond description of turmoil, walking into that room with the lighting and the presence of those hands I got instant relief that we luckily made it through the storm and those hands protected our house. \r\n