Monday, May 3, 2010

The Great Flood of 2010

It's been a great weekend, y'all! I started out Saturday with my kid playing fetch with his puppy in the rain flood waters. Nothing flooded in our courtyard or house, this was all out in the yard safe away from our stuff. It regularly "floods" like that here. Our sump pump keeps us safe and we had just cleaned-out the pump & its little sunken nook three weeks ago so we were feeling safe.



Sunday morning came around and I guess our little overworked pump was giving up the ghost. It would work for a while and then stop for a break then kick back on then stop again. It was 7:30am and I woke PJ up & we left @ 8 to go get another pump from one of the chain home stores. By 9am when we had found one & returned home, water was already up to PJ's doors on his car (it's acting now like it's got electrical damage, how great is THAT?). He had to splash out into the courtyard and get his car out of there ASAP! We began evacuating the electronics upstairs but weren't able to salvage any of our furniture or the small things before the water was unmanageable. We didn't even think about the garage items like all the laundry we'd piled down there for laundry-weekend. Yup, clothes are toast.



The constant flow of water did our original sump pump in. It's not functioning at all now. The sheer quantity of water also put a hurt on the 2nd one we bought yesterday. We have some improvised pumps now (off of above-ground pool systems) and that seems to be working well to lower the water levels. It's finally out of the man-room and we're working hard to get the remaining water swept & vacuumed out of the room. We're about to start gutting it once the water isn't part of the picture any more.



It smells TERRIBLE now that it's warmed-up outside & sunny! My house smells like rotten fish tank water. Ugh!



To top it off, we have flood insurance but they are hedging around with us. They are sending an adjuster out tomorrow but they say that if it didn't reach the top story of our home they are probably not going to cover anything. Not structural damage, not reimbursements for the extra pumps we bought, nothing. I swear, I will punch a baby!



To add salt to the wounds, my doctor's office just called me with my diagnosis: It's definitely Lupus. I'm back to the Rheumatologist as soon as their office is re-opened from the flood stuff.



They say that you are never given more than you can bear. I guess someone thinks I'm pretty damn strong. I'm just going to keep looking at it that way. We're alive, albeit poorer and with way less usable "stuff" than we had a few days ago. Our home is standing, not listing or drooping or creaking or swaying, and we didn't have to evacuate. Plus all our totally-fabulous neighbors are still alive and in their homes too!

I'm off to sweep & clean water & try to make a dent in the giant mess that used to be the bottom half of our home. I hope that the rest of my friends & family also came through the floods unscathed. No matter how devastating the financial aspects of this are, at least we are alive and in relatively good health. It's a blessing when there are others' whose homes were completely engulfed or who lost loved ones. I honestly was feeling pretty sorry for myself until we turned the news on last night and then I just cried over how bad it could have been! My heart goes out to everyone who is suffering from this flood, and I hope that you have a good support system to get through it.

Friends & neighbors who want to do something for someone who is flood-ravaged: My sister sent food hot from her oven. She sent warm dry clothes. The combination of dry socks & warm filling food made me break down with gratitude. Today my brother Scot took the day off and is helping us again try to clear out some of this water. We didn't know where to turn, and he's no flood expert, but having someone come around who is willing to throw ideas out there has made a big difference in our confidence. We may be screwed by insurance & circumstance, but we are NOT helpless... and our feet are dry and our bellies are full! Amen!

Blessed be,
-Regan-