Evidence of the past month’s Mardi Gras festivities is everywhere in this city. Strands of beads adorn trees and telephone poles, creating miles and miles of Christmas-tree like decorations. It’s evident in our house as well; we’ve yet to take down our Mardi Gras tree and there are still piles of beads littering our floors. The chosen few- like the enormous, glittering fleur de lis beads that Danielle caught or my strand of beads with whales on it- will remain around the house as decorations, hanging on door handles or window sills. That’s just how we do things in New Orleans.
As always, Mardi Gras was amazing and beautiful and utterly exhausting. I was low-key this year and only went to 6 parades, an obscene number when you realize that there were over 50 parades in the city in the month leading up to Fat Tuesday. All the same, it was glorious. We bundled up to stay warm in the 50/60 degree weather, staked out our spots, and I screamed my indecently loud scream that only comes out for Mardi Gras. None of our efforts were in vain; we walked away with sore necks from the heavy weight of beads, our arms laden with cups, stuffed animals, keychains, and the coveted decorative shoes that every educated parade attendee knows is a rare treasure to receive.
For us, the craziness ended early Tuesday afternoon, when we realized that we’d had enough parades for one year and were starting to feel cranky from our 6am departure. Others in the city lived every moment of Mardi Gras to its fullest and partied until they were literally pushed out of the French Quarter at midnight by mounted police officers, as is tradition to signify the end of Mardi Gras and the beginning of Lent.
Life in New Orleans eased its way back into normalcy as the week progressed; students returned to school, businesses reopened, and people remembered that they had priorities outside of beads and celebration. I caught up on sleep, traffic patterns normalized, and costumes were put away until next year. We’ve calmed down again, but all it takes is a drive down the beautiful bead-studded St. Charles to remember that here in New Orleans, we value life, celebration, and joy.
