I know that who ever reads this is probably tired of reading posts about natural disasters on my blog, but since this is a record of what happens in our day to day life, please bear with me one more time!!
Last week it rained here for about 4 days straight. Remnants of tropical storm Lee hung around here all week, and the worst of the storm hit with full force on Thursday night.
I was home by myself with the boys that night. We ate dinner around 5:30, and it was raining. By 6, it was raining so hard that water started to pool up around our back porch and in the parking lot. I was concerned a little since I had not seen water flood like this in our place like that. But then it kept getting worse! Between 6 and 6:30, there was water on our back porch that was reaching our back doors (we live on ground level) and the water in the parking lot was starting to turn into a raging river! Even the breeze way between the apartments in our complex was starting to turn into a stream!
You can tell I was a little freaked out:
At this point, I was really scared and did not know what to do. I called Greg at one point to see where he was and to warn him about the flooding. He was getting some work done on his car, so he really couldn't come home right then but promised he would be home soon. About 20 minutes later, he was still not home and he was not answering his phone. I started to think that maybe his car got swept away by the flood water or something awful like that.
Between being scared of the water getting into our apartment and not knowing where Greg was, I was not thinking clearly. At one point I thought it would be a good idea to take the kids up a level just in case the water got too high. We got to the balcony of the 2nd floor, and Deagan tells me, "Mom, we don't have any pants or shoes on." Sure enough, both kids had shirts and jackets on but no pants or shoes. I decided to race back down to get some more clothes on them because I was thinking we might be forced to leave or something, and when we got inside I felt so strongly that we should pray for Greg. So we knelt down in our living room floor and we prayed. I prayed that if it was God's will, that it would stop raining so hard and that the water would not get any higher. I prayed that we would be safe and I would know what I needed to do to protect my children. And most of all, I prayed that Greg would come home safe to us.
Not more than 2 minutes later Greg walked in the door, soaking wet. Our prayer worked! He said that he had to park a few block away from our complex because most of the roads by our place were blocked at that point because of the flash flood, and he ran from the car to our apartment through this raging river! Where he ran, the water was above his knees, but we heard later from some friends that live near us that it was above their waist! There were reports of SUV's being completely buried in water! Flash floods are so dangerous, and a few times Greg thought he was going to get pulled down by the current of the water. I am so grateful that our prayer worked and brought him safely to us because the outcome could have been so awful!
Having him home really helped to calm me down, but I was still nervous. We had finalized out 72 hour kits in preparation for Hurricane Irene a few weeks ago, but a few days before this storm I took out a few of the food items so I could use them in a few meals. I also took out some of the clothes with the intention of putting clothes in that would actually fit the boys. We gathered a few items and packed the most random 72 hour kits ever. I ended up with like 5 pairs of pants and Greg had a shirt. Clearly I was not thinking straight. I also threw our important papers in a plastic grocery bag just in case.
As the night went on, the rain was still coming down hard but the water was receding at out door. Our prayer was answered again. We felt at that point, that we were safe to stay in our apartment.
Greg took this video that night:
We woke up the next morning, and the water had gone down considerably, but there was mud everywhere!!
Unfortunately, water did seep into our car; both of our cars. We are not really sure how high it got or if it got into our engine. We checked the oil and the tail pipe and did not see any water, but who knows. Greg also shampooed our carpets and cleaned the car as well as he could. To make matters worse, I found out today that the water that came through here is considered to be category 3 flood water; meaning that on a scale of 1 to 3 of water contamination, the water that got in our car was the most contaminated water.
To be honest, our car is stressing me out so much right now. I didn't realize just how stressed I was until my mom called today and asked me about it. Sorry for the tears moms! We have a very high deductible, and no way to pay for repairs with that deductible being so high. We have an insurance agent coming by soon to look at it, so I am praying so hard that some how something will work out. I don't know why I am so stressed about a car, but I am. Having a car in this area symbolizes freedom for me in a way. The first 2 weeks here, I did not have a car, and I felt so trapped and hated it here. Every time I don't have the car now, those feeling come back and I don't want to go back there.
Right now, I feel like we are getting hit back to back with no time to recover, and I feel worn down. Life is super stressful right now, so I have to remind myself to stop and count my blessings because those definitely out weight the trials.
I am hoping that this is my last natural disaster post for awhile now for all our sakes. :)
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