Floods

We are currently flooded out of our home. All spring I have been concerned about the amount of rain and the generally high level of the river by our house, but that all came to a head last week.

I took off from work early on Wed and we started packing things up. On Thursday I moved most of the stuff that absolutely could not be replaced and other important items up to a vacant apartment on the second floor of our building. About 4 or 5 in the afternoon we checked into the Baymont Inn to wait out the flooding. Everyone kept saying it was not going to amount to much, but I had told everyone that anything below the window level in our apartment should go up higher. There just was not enough time to move everything and we had to get out eventually.

It's a good thing we did. Thursday night the water came up 2 feet in 2 hours. It went from ankle deep to knee deep Thurs night to waist deep on Fri morning. Just before my son and I helped sandbag the local tattoo shop Thursday night, I went back and got the animals out. Later during the night Thursday people on my street had to be rescued by boat. Friday morning, after the water had come up so high and was being forecasted to go another 3 -5 feet, I dodged cops and national guardsman to go move stuff up to the landing between the 2nd and 3rd floors. I also grabbed our wedding album which we had forgotten was put up high in our apt. The water inside was up almost to my neck. Our apartment is a half in the ground apt, so it makes it worse for flooding (but better for tornados)

It was a mess inside. The couch and entertainment center were floating in the living room. My son's TV was floating in his room along with his dresser. My daughter's room was a mess of floating objects since none of her toys made it upstairs. This is where one of the biggest heartbreaks of my life occurred. My daughter is not too materialistic. Yes she likes to get things, but she isn't big on keeping things. She gives away a lot of what she has as well. She has one doll in particular that she treats like a real baby - Gracie. It's a baby shoo shoo doll. It is somewhat expensive, but a really life-like doll in the true size of a newborn. She carts that doll everywhere. Well she had rushed help in packing up her room and it got tossed in with all her dolls in a tote. That tote was floating around in her room mostly full of nasty flood water.

When I came back and told her it was probably gone in the flood, she lost it. All throughout this she and my son have been great, but that just crushed her. It still makes my heart hurt to think of it. She is always so willing to help everyone and give people whatever she can and the only item she really cares about is gone. It just isn't right. God bless her though, she hasn't dwelled on it and everyone has been great to her since. She's had some bad dreams since though and we brought her over to the FEMA councellors. It seems to have helped.

Speaking of our kids, my son has really impressed me throughout this entire time. He had been volunteering with different sandbagging operations since the Monday prior to this. Not many 14 year olds would do anything, much less ask for a ride to go sandbag. After some initially grouching (and what teen doesn't) he really buckled down and did an awesome job getting things up higher in his room and helping with the whole process. He hasn't bitched or whined about being put out. He also suffered a pretty big loss. His currency collection was definitely under water when I snuck back in. He is very anxious about it, but like my daughter, he hasn't been dwelling on it. He been pretty damn stoic in fact. He even wanted to sneak in and help me move things when I went back in on Friday, though there is no way I would let him get in that nasty water. I think we may have done some good things in raising him. He has really made me proud this last week.

I am all set with new shots though. We are in the Baymont 'til Thursday. We'll probably spend a night in the shelter on Thursday night and then head to Des Moines for the weekend or something. The casino is going to cut me a deal on a room for a few days and hopefully by the middle of next week my sister-in-laws road will be dry enough that she can get back in and we'll stay with her for a while I guess.

Until something like this hits, you just don't realize what and who you are truly thankful for. We have so many truly heartfelt thanks to all the folks who have been so great to us, and for all the offers of help. We will probably be taking you up on many of them in the coming weeks. If you've been hit by the floods, our prayers are with you as well.

We love you all.

Linkage - pics and some vids:
http://picasaweb.google.com/zalaster/Flood4
http://picasaweb.google.com/zalaster/Flood302
http://picasaweb.google.com/zalaster/BriCam613
http://picasaweb.google.com/zalaster/FloodPics