I love the waterfront view

The river level right where we like it.

Well, the kids have left. What do you say we catch a few shows before heading to bed? Sci Fi looks fun tonight. Sound like shock yet?

Rewinding a few weeks: About a month before Fay arrived I had this nagging urge to organize my basement. Nesting is a form of PMS for me. I chalked the nagging up to PMS, and politely went about my days taking care of the kids and our living space. So much to do so little time. "The basement can wait. It's not that bad." I kept repeating this to myself. Talking to your self is bad! Exactly a month before Fay arrived in N. Florida, I actually did spend one afternoon tidying up a little. MM came down to supervise and got us into the mess with the rancid oil and moth ball laden grains. Two weeks before Fay the grains actually made it to the dump. What a mess! So while I didn't complete the task of getting the basement purged and ready for high water, I did eliminate a major source of yuck.

The river bed with our boat anchored out in what will become 15-18 feet of water in less than two days time.

We woke up Saturday morning and notice the river has fallen several feet... what are they doing? We got busy in the basement putting up somethings and considering what to get rid. It was hard to understand that the water will rise when it was actually falling. It's like telling a kid they'll go to the amusement park when the car is headed for home. It just doesn't make sense. All the feelings I have are unpredictable, one minute we have a feeling of calm because it isn't raining right now so let's not fuss so much. It won't get as high as the bottom shelf. The next minute we are worried about the house falling down on top of us if the water does really get as high as is predicted. Mixed in constantly was the feeling of being a wet trapped rat. Nothing that needs to be done makes sense.


The boat was anchored near that tree that is out in the watery background. Now it's moored at the edge of the hill.

You may not know this but our house is where MM grew up. His dad built it in 1955 and raised it up 12 feet in 1969 to prevent repeated damage to the living quarters in future floods. We live here by choice and love it. Others however, are not native. If I ever had to buy a house, waterfront wouldn't be my choice, not because it isn't pretty, but because it would introduce so many variables (Meg, variables = things that are unknown or can change). There are many homes in our area that flooded and only saw an inch of water, but that inch ruined the first 4 feet of drywall in their home along with their carpet and hardwood floors. One of the most basic necessities for life is as destructive as it is vital. One neighbor in particular has lived here less than two years. This is their first major flood and only their second high water and both happened within 6 months of this year!


A side view of our house. Notice where we had the HVAC ouside unit placed?

Tomorrow's installment: "The Wake-up Call You Never Wanted"