``It’s a little tricky getting around the city now. So, I can show you where you will be going.’’

The next morning, Easter, Mel and I plan to be at a 10 a.m. orientation at the relief kitchen set up by Emergency Communities. It’s located in the Arabi near St. Bernard Parish and the Ninth Ward.

``We have survived many hurricanes,’’ continues Mary, a New Orleans native who lives in Metairie just outside of the city. ``But this one has been the worst. Usually, the recovery is a few days or maybe a couple of weeks.’’

Some eight months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, she, her husband, a firefighter, and her seventh-grader son, only recently moved back home.

For months, the family had been bunking in a FEMA trailer. It still sits on their front lawn.

``You can see the water marks in our house,’’ she says. ``My husband stayed through the whole thing. He had to work.’’

She and her son were evacuated to Houston.

She’s eager to talk; I want to hear it all. She tells me her house was filled with water.

I can’t imagine the stress Post-K has put on her family. Is there a handbook on how to parent during what seems to be an endless recovery effort?

Parenting is a difficult task in the best of times. How is it done in the worst of times?

I ask, ``What can I bring?’’

She says, ``nothing.’’

I ask again toward the end of conversation, and she laughs. It feels good to hear her laugh.

She adds, ``Well, do you know anyone who wants to do manual labor?’’

The Grecos are in the process of painting their house -- one of the final stages of putting a house back together.

But the process of rebuilding their lives continues. What and when will be the final stages of putting their lives back together?

She tells me that I don’t know what to expect. I believe her.