The Wake-up Call You Never Wanted

Sorry: no pics right now because I'm on the wrong computer.

By now you've figured out that I'm cheating, and I am part of the biggest loser contest.

Before I move forward, I must say that Saturday afternoon we spent the better part of an hour lifting our generator up higher, but still in the trailer. I didn't get pictures of it, but it was a redneck joke waiting to happen. Our future disaster plan involves a wrap around porch and a permanent home for the generator. Our next storm will be much easier to endure.

Saturday was a long day for us, but not so much that we couldn't enjoy a nice dinner with each other and catch a show or two. We made our way to the comfort of our own bed and went right to sleep - amazing what a good nights rest will do. This respite was soon abruptly truncated. At 6 a.m. Sunday our phone rings.


"KKK, this is P, your neighbor, they are taking the river to flood stage by noon today. They expect the river to go to 7 feet above flood stage before this event is over."


I'm awake now. The Lord is good to me. What if my kids had been here? I wouldn't have been able to get everything done that needed to be done... What if I hadn't done so much work yesterday cleaning the floor of all the oil that would have coated the walls with it's ick? What if... That's where I had to stop. The "What ifs" were beginning to rack my brain. What about our books, our pictures... What about our house?


In a state of panic I made a few phone calls: "Dad, please help!" was the first. Before long Dad was here with BB and a couple trailers. Another couple, B&MW, showed up with their truck to get things belonging to them. Moving as quickly as possible, we loaded our trailer with large items that just must go up and out. Quickly - that's an interesting word. Remember, water is rising rapidly over our entire yard. Our driveway is a low spot. I have on crocs and my waders. Everything is slippery.

I look around the basement. I see all the things I could have done if I had just obeyed over the past month. Oh to only obey. I start pitching junk:

Cardboard boxes
Plastic Grocery Bags
Plastic plant pots
Tarps that are torn

Over the course of three days we pitched three truck loads of trash - it all came from our basement. Shame on us.

My dad, being of sound mind and body, insisted that the freezer and little fridge be unloaded and trucked out of the house. Apparently he's seen a few rotten freezers in his day. So, before they left, B&MW helped us unload all the freezer contents into coolers (of which we have plenty). They have a freezer that they hadn't hooked up in a while and it was ready to be filled. See, God is good to me. I'm really glad my dad was there.

At the end of the day we had loaded our truck and trailer with all the expensive equipment and moved it to higher ground. Power had been cut by about 3 p.m. and there was nothing left for everyone else to do, so they went back home (and BB prepared to go to NY... I wonder how his trip went?). In the next few hours I prepared to evacuate our personal stuff. Laundry to be folded, computers, curriculum (all the good books we read), a few final groceries, and all the essential papers we need.

Why did it take three hours to load our van with what we felt was important? We had to boat it all to the road. The river is now three feet deep in our driveway (remember the low spot?).

Next time: Two ways to relieve stress when things are out of your control...

Overflowing River...

Cheater, cheater pumpkin eater. YES. I am unashamedly cheating. By the time this is over, I will be the Champion Blogger... if only I can learn to modify my blog like PPP does.

You might be a redneck if, know when to wear your waders...


My brother, BB, and I "wadin' in the water, children just wadin' in the water. The Lord's gonna trouble the water.”

Fay (Tropical Storm) meandered over the entire state of Florida late August. As she made her way over the panhandle she tarried and poured water all over the eastern part of Florida, but more importantly South Georgia. Thus begins the story of When Fay Strolled through Town.

Chapter 1

The water for our river flows directly from South Georgia. As Fay approached, we lost power for two days. Nothing compared to the loss of a lineman in the line of duty; May God bless his family. We had watched as reports came from all over Florida recording how much rain Fay had distributed. We were sure that our river would get in our first floor (aka basement/storage area). We needed to get ready. In effort to ease tension and allow us to work unfettered, I took the kids to G’ma's. They might just as well have been on their way to heaven.

However, by the time we arrived, trees were down all over the place. (Has anyone considered questioning our town's perpetual partiality toward trees? What about my sanity – driving in that storm, what was I thinking?) Power was out! What would they eat? Here I had taken them from our generator and grilling heaven to granola and fruit and no microwave. What would G and P do with three young'uns, no power and no entertainment (Politically Correct word for TV)? Should I just take them back home, Ma? They'll be fine. We'll be fine… "duh duh duh duh duh..." (What G says when she's played too long!).

During all the storm issues, I had chatted with some friends about phone service during power outages. How wonderful it is to be able to make a phone call to report an outage when there is one! I remembered that G didn’t have a corded phone. I hit the local dollar store and found almost the last one they had. Good, now at least we can call and check on each other. With the boys and their stuff settled into G’s and the phone hooked up, I was ready to get back home.

I kept telling myself this wasn’t so bad. The linemen were at work and being in the city I was sure power would return shortly. We’ve had worse rain than this. We checked the radar and the hydrologic predictions. They won't raise it tonight, will they? Oh this self talk is bad. Just go to sleep. See what it looks like in the morning. Get some rest.

Check in tomorrow for the next chapter: "I love the waterfront view"