When the Flood Waters Came...

Perhaps you remember, not long after we moved in to this house, I wrote this post about why a man needs a man cave.  Part of the reason we loved this house so much was that Adam finally got an actual recording studio of his own. 

It was on our wish list, very high up, because writing musicals requires that he has a space to really work. And the first floor is tricky given the little people who live with us. 

Wednesday night, Adam went down to work and seconds later, called me to his office. I could tell by the tone of his voice something was wrong...and I just knew it was the water. It had been raining for days and days, but Wednesday was the worst of it. 

Adam's floor now felt like a water bed and the water had seeped through to the storage room. 

Worse, I was having a major stomach issue Wednesday night so I was almost completely worthless. I woke up the next morning to discover my husband had been sweeping and sucking and wringing out water all night long. 

It had reached through the storage room all the way to my office. 

And really, there was no stopping it. His floor had started to buckle and now mine was doing the same.

Neither of us has ever felt so helpless in our lives. 

But something happened to us in that moment. We got the kids off to school, rolled up our sleeves, ate a couple of these:

And went to work. It was like we were doing battle with this water. We joined half the town at Home Depot where we bought an auxiliary pump, a squeegee mop, garbage bins and toilet paper (just because we were out, not because it helped with the water.) 

We stood outside in the rain marveling at the water that just kept coming, it was seeping up everywhere. 

If ever there would've been a time to justify a pair of cute wellies, now was it...

Our pond flooded:

Our yard kept producing disgusting creatures that made me shudder:

And our sump pump, which appeared to be slow on the draw, deposited all the water right back into the same spot...right next to our house. 

(Let me just commend the genius who decided that was a good idea.) 

We stayed pragmatic. Even when we tore out the floor we'd picked out and put down ourselves only a few short months ago. 

Even when we took a hammer and started destroying the walls we'd carefully painted in the color Adam chose.

And as we did each of these things, the water just kept coming...

Buckets and buckets and buckets full.

Until finally, Adam took the shop vac (best Christmas present I ever bought him) outside and sucked all the water away from the house. 

That was finally when we started to see some progress. When the wall stopped wailing and I started to think maybe...just maybe we would sleep that night. 

The room was a very sad state.

Boxes and boxes in our storage room were ruined...we haven't even had the heart to look through them yet. Most of them contained scrapbooking related things. 

All day Thursday, I felt like I had such a great attitude about this whole thing. I mean, there we were, watching as our home was invaded by this force we had absolutely no control over...

And we just kept pushing forward. We slept hard on Thursday night and when I woke up on Friday, that's when it hit, the emotion of the situation. I knew we were SO LUCKY (not that I believe in luck.) I knew it could've been SO MUCH WORSE. I was thanking God our computers with all of our work were spared and as far as I can tell, so were most of our photos. 

We heard reports of people nearby with FEET (like, six) of water in their basement. And that would've been us had Adam not gone downstairs to work on Wednesday night. 

I spent the day mostly depressed, feeling violated in some weird way...

And then yesterday, I found out from the insurance guy that we have to rip up the carpet in the art room. 

Yeah. The room I finished a few weeks ago. 

It's hard to focus on that silver lining, I guess...when all around me I see more and more work. (Do you know how hard it'll be to clear out MY office to put down a new floor?)  We have a son who is severely allergic to mold, a moist basement that reeks of this odd cat odor and lots and lots of work to do... 

Still, in spite of that, I feel thankful. We did battle and we came out on the other side a little worse for wear, but mostly okay. 

And knowing it really, really could've been so much worse. 

Related articles

Just Begin.

A Big Announcement {Rockford, IL Mixed Media Art Classes}

Building a Real Life Presence

For Those Who Are Discouraged.

Comments

[Cathy]

Painful to see, even from here....I'm so sorry.
You can do it!

[Lisa P]

Heartbreaking. Hoping you get good results from your insurance. Iam glad the big stuff was saved.

[Ally]

Painful for sure, and I sure don't miss IL for these reasons! But man, sounds like the really, really important stuff was spared... and you have good insurance. So thankful for all that! Hang in there!

[Laura]

Oh nooooo!!!!! I am so sorry to hear this, what a mess to have to deal with! Knowing it could have been worse doesn't always make it feel any better. We've had a "the hits just keep on coming" last few weeks, and like my mom reminded me, the crap you have to deal with until things get back to normal and you can get on with life, IS life. (sigh) She's right.

[Lmbartelt.wordpress.com]

Oh, talk about getting this, Courtney. I get this. Ours happened a year and a half ago in the middle of the night. Our sump pump had been keeping up and then the EMA cut the power to most of the town to keep the substation from flooding and we ended up with 30 inches in our basement. It is heartbreaking, especially since most of the stuff we lost was books and pictures and memories. The kind of stuff that really hurts to lose. It does get better and you do move on, but in the moment, you feel all those things you described. I'm glad you were able to fight it and make progress and I'm praying you'll get some rest and not be overly discouraged. *hugs*

[dynar@aol.com]

We, too , have been through this Courtney so I can say with my heart "I feel for you". We moved into Dave's parents house when we came back to Iowa and then found a tiny rental house where we could have our "things" around us and out of storage. We felt blessed. Friends made a trip to Colorado, to see our kids, possible and while we were gone, Des Moines flooded. Dave's family went into our house and emptied the basement of all the wet, filled boxes and mopped and pushed water til we got home. To this day, when I can't find something I just have to say, "must have lost it in the flood"...learned quickly, it's just "stuff"...it is horrible you have to go through this but you are right, it could have been worse. Praying for you as you "regroup".

[Deborah Raney]

SO sorry, Courtney! I can imagine how overwhelming this must feel. Praying for continued good attitudes (your attitude of gratitude is a testimony to me!) and that this will all be behind you sooner than you even hope. Love you and feeling for you big time!

[Leanne]

Augh!!! My heart breaks for you! Chicagoland sure got HIT last week. I am south suburbs (New Lenox), and while we had lots of flooded streets, we were saved in our home (knocking on wood - you know that our weather can change in a blink of an eye). I'm so sorry for all you have to clean up and work through. . . especially your art room. Hang in there!

[Carla]

Oh, Courtney, I'm so sorry. And yes, I would think it would feel like you'd been violated. All that hard work gone down the drain (literally!). Thinking of you as you regroup and dig in.

[becky @ farmgirl paints]

oh girl i'm so sorry. what a pain!! what a PAIN! but even in this you see the silver lining. HE is good ALL THE TIME! praying it all gets put back together even better than before. big hugs!

[Lisa]

My sympathies! Every time something horrible like this happens at my house, I irrationally get mad at myself for buying it in the first place. But then I remember that I believe it was God's will that we bought this house and peace returns. I can't explain the reason for when bad things happen, but its comforting to know God helps us through the tough times, and He would never lead me anywhere that was not intended.

[Jeanne Gelbert]

Hi Courtney, Spend several hundred dollars more and purchase a dehumidifier for each room affected, and be prepared to haul the collection buckets outside to dump them. It will help significantly with the level of humidity and help prevent mold spores from growing.Got some experience with that in Georgia, and now live in Florida on the Gulf Coast soooo...

[Ruth G]

It's so hard when something as extreme as the weather we had last week causes such challenges and damage. It's equally hard to know how to proceed - repair the damage and go back to how things were or change philosophy and adapt to the possibility it could happen again?
We've had problems with water in our lower level (garden basement) almost since the first weekend we have been in our house and after hauling out a very large and waterlogged woven rug from the previous owners and having other items ruined, we've taken the stance that it could happen again (and has, many times) so we just make sure that there's nothing that is unprotected or elevated and that's how we've decided we will live. Best of luck as you decide how to proceed!

[Karen in CO]

Hmmm- Hi Courtney, I can't join in with the others and say I understand, I can relate, it happened to us...
We've been in such a drought in CO for several years - -
all I can add is, from a spiritual sense, I CAN relate.
Alarm, fear, then dread and denial. Then overwhelmed, and finally determination to persevere ~ !
God be with you! in this stage of it all; as we often 'grow, under the load' ...~

[Terrones Harbin]

What a ghastly experience. But I'm glad you can survive.

[Rast Sowell]

I feel sorry about what happened to your house. You have a lot to work on with your stuff. Just don't forget to rest after working, I think renovation is a good idea.

[Rast Sowell]

I feel sorry about what happened to your house. You have a lot to work on with your stuff. Just don't forget to rest after working, I think renovation is a good idea.

[Rast Sowell]

Mother Nature just unleashed her fury upon your home and now your basement is flooded. What's worse. I feel sorry to know this, but I know that you are clever enough to handle such situation.