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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

The Aftermath


While Sunday was difficult for us with our flooded basement, it sounds like we were not alone. Just driving around the last few days I saw furniture, rolled carpet, and lots of garbage by the curb at many houses. As it turned out, we were blessed greatly by the experience. Sure, I lost some things that I've been saving for years. The worst thing was the contents of our safe. The things on top were mostly fine, but on the bottom I had several of the kids' special things from babyhood. Hospital footprints, sonogram photos, cards, first year calendars, etc. were ruined. I've tried to salvage some of it, but it's really a mess. I suppose maybe God was trying to teach me not to hold on to material things so tightly.
Some of the things that were lost had sentimental value to me, some were just junk, but nothing was overly expensive. Our dehumidifier bit the dust, but I suppose that is minor. The water heater seems fine, and I've already washed and dried 5 loads of laundry in the last 2 days. What a blessing. It's so inconvenient having to take it somewhere else to do it, and it stacks up so fast. The freezer may be usable. We are mostly worried about it being a safety risk. Apparently our lame homeowner's policy doesn't cover the kind of water damage from flooding that we experienced. Nice. Well, then it's an extra blessing that the appliances seem to be working.
An added bonus to our week is an amazingly clean basement. We swept and mopped and mopped some more. We ran fans and burned scented candles. Then I bought several more rubbermaid bins to fill with things that had been in cardboard boxes previously. I organized and rearranged. I think that crazy basement is cleaner than it has ever been. Truthfully that has needed to happen for quite some time, but I knew it would require more time and effort than I had to spare. Still, I'm glad I was forced to get it done. At this point there are only a handful of things still remaining in the garage that need to be dragged back down there. The paint on the landing and down the stairs was all torn up and needs to be repainted, too. Maybe tomorrow...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So glad you are able to see the good from your water ordeal! Sorry about the safe getting wet--never thought about it! I think we as humans all tend to hold on to material things too tightly and it takes something like this to make us aware of what is really important! So glad you have been able to get everything cleaned up and mostly put away again. Glad the appliances are working too. God is so good.
In Christian Love,
Grandma & Grandpa

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear your appliances work and that the damage was minimal. I totally understand the heartbreak and pain in losing those things that don't cost a lot of money but have great sentimental value to you. Sorry on the loss of those things. Glad you are getting things all cleaned up and running again.

Beckie

Unknown said...

Hi Monday's,
Heard about your water damage...so sorry you had to go through that...but glad to see you have a positive attitude. That's good for the children to see..helps them learn how to handle a 'problem'. Think about and pray for your family often.
Miss Nancy from Cornerstone.