Ash Wednesday. For traditional Catholics it’s a day of repentance. For Louisiana’s Cajuns and Creoles, it’s the day they recover from the indulgences of Fat Tuesday and they go to church to start the unbearably long lent season of clean living. For me, this year it has a new meaning.  It’s the end of one party and the beginning of another.

I’m not Catholic even though as a child growing up in Louisiana I used to think I was.  Everybody else was. So, I adopted the lent ritual as an opportunity to energize my direction. After years of living in other states, it is apropos that I am back in Louisiana to be reminded of the benefit of cleansing and driving toward a bluer sky after the most amazing Carnival Season ever.

So, I took the few days to play in the streets of New Orleans and Lafayette and forget about career, money, work or other practicalities. Today, Ash Wednesday, I’m attending the new party that starts now, the one that celebrates talent, curiosity and wit in a community of creative and supportive professionals. Laissez les bon temps roulez!