So Friday morning, the flood waters magically receded. It left as fast as it came. We were in shock. When we went in on Thursday, it was bad. There's no sugar coating being waist deep in water on your lawn, or boating out of your street. Most everyone was predicting that it would be 2 weeks before we'd be able to start any work.
We surveyed the damage. I can finally tell my BFF Britt that I know what mud smells like. It's gross. To me, the damage didn't seem terrible. I had been watching the news, and saw whole homes underwater in neighboring towns. We got about 3-4 inches on water all around the house. Jarod saved our electronics and pulled up as much as he could. The biggest hits were the closets... because I never hang anything up or really put things away. (Out of sight, out of mind, right??)
First step, pull the carpet up.... scratch that, there's too much shit on the ground.
I'm not exactly sure what Jarod did on Friday, but I'm guessing it was pretty important. I stood in my closet for a couple hours, trying to come up with a good plan.... we could probably just burn the bitch down and start anew! Joking aside, I got all the wet stuff out of there, and pulled up the carpet in the closet... You'd think this process would be therapeutic, but with a dull utility knife, it's just as frustrating as leaving it where it is... especially when you've been working on it for an hour and don't realize what's wrong. I'm just saying, demo day may be stress relieving if you have the proper tools.
*Side note: I found out that my knife was dull, when I went to tell Jarod I wasn't sure I was doing it right, and saw him cut through carpet like butter with his brand new blade! Really?!?!
After a quick google search, I found that our wet clothes were salvageable. A few quick washes and they should be OK. Our plan to spend the night at the local washateria was squashed by our wonderful neighbors that took every single basket and bag to wash for us. I just couldn't believe it! Hours and hours of time saved. On top of that, another neighbor said we could store our things at their house. (I was really wondering if they knew what they were getting into, but they're super nice. haha) I went home, and passed out. I woke up to a dozen messages, tags, and notifications of people wanting to help. People I knew, but mostly people I only kind of knew by their profile pic. I could not believe it!
At one in the morning, I definitely thought we were OK, and I was certain there were probably others that needed more help than we did. Turns out, we probably got the worst of it (believe it or not). I didn't really know what needed to be done, but figured we could use a couple extra hands to help (Because cutting carpet is really hard with a dull knife.)The next day was nothing short of a miracle.
When we got to the house, we had 5, yes FIVE people waiting to help us. (More or less, I honestly didn't count, but I tell people 5 for the effect). Jarod sent myself and my friend Rowena on a trip to Costco to get bins for our crap... we took our time for a quick Starbucks run, too. To come home to no less than 25 people in our house getting shit done. I couldn't believe it! Half our carpet was ripped out, our things ready to be transferred. I walked around for literally 2 hours not knowing what I could do. All I can think is, I'm really glad we aren't into anything weird, because people were definitely seeing us in all our glory! People would ask me questions like "Would you like to keep this?" or "what can I do to help?" and I just kept telling them I didn't know. I let Jarod make on the decisions. I mean, I hate making real decisions in the first place, so I thought I was being normal. Looking back, I think I'm still a little shocked. New people would come in and I would say "Hi!" and try to stop myself from saying "Excuse the mess"
...ummm it's a mess because there was literally a river running through the house.
In any case, Rivers Edge has been nothing short of amazing to us! The HOURS and MONEY that they saved us, the support that we were given, the new friends we've made.... I. just. can't. Out of this long essay, I'm speechless when I think of the people that have been to our house. All I can say is, thank you times infinity. This is the glue that keeps people together. This is the faith in humanity that the world should see, feel, and believe in. I wish I could name every single person, because they truly deserve individual shout outs, but Rivers Edge, you truly are a community of family. We love you all. You didn't have to be there and you sought us out. I can't think of any other place where I've heard there were TOO MANY Volunteers.
I truly appreciate everyone that has offered us help. If I refuse, I'm sorry. I still don't really get how much there is to do. From what I hear, you just have to do it. I know I'd force help onto you :)
I could probably ramble on and on, but I'll finish with this. We will get through this. We will be OK. We're a little crazy right now, but things will be normal soon.
Love to you all! (I don't usually say that...But I do.)
The Palmers
No comments:
Post a Comment