Within a few hours of our arrival at the house, there were more people there than I could count. Our church community and our homeschool community were amazing! Talk about people not afraid to get dirty. Those people - men, women, boys, girls - were sloshing through several inches of sludge inside the house as well as out! There wasn't even a place to sit down without getting muddy.
I was in a state of shock and somewhat paralyzed. It was so difficult to think and then actually follow through with getting something done. I was so overwhelmed. Thankfully, a fellow homeschooler and church member was able to basically take over. She could see a need and send someone to take care of that need. I thank God for sending her to help when we desperately needed help.
There is nothing quite like having every single possession you own being sifted through by someone you don't know and then moved out onto your front lawn. Like I previously said, we were able to move most cherished items upstairs, but there were still drawers and cabinets that were full, one being my nightstand. It contained the Bible that my daddy gave me. There was no saving it. My mother recently asked about a picture that Puppy drew in kindergarten. I don't know if it went down in the flood or not. I don't want to think about it. As long as I don't know for certain, there is still hope.
Any furniture that was not 100% wood was already falling apart. No one even considered trying to save fabric or leather furniture. It all went to the curb. In some ways it was easier having other people gutting the house. It moved me a step further away from the reality of what was happening.
There is no way I can adequately express our gratitude to those who helped during one of the most difficult times of our lives. In my mind, I can still see faces of people whose names I do not know. Those in our community who were not helping to muck out houses were making meals and doing laundry. Their sacrificial giving . . . I cherish it all in my heart.
My mother and brother arrived on Saturday. My mother brought her little pickup to us so that we would have transportation and could return the Cs' car to them. It was nice having my family here for a few days. On Monday, my mother, Puppy and I drove to Dallas to meet up with The Professor's mother. She also had a vehicle she let us borrow.
We were very blessed that our house got mucked out so quickly. It is all because of our church and homeschool communities. Once everything was out of the house, everything remaining had to be sprayed with special chemicals and left to dry. Because we are still hopeful that we will sell our house, we hired a remediation company to get the house dried out and to confirm that it is mold free. We wanted to have certification that we can show a future buyer.
Most in our area did not have flood insurance because we were not in a flood zone. We received a small amount from FEMA and our insurance company let us claim a very small amount for a sewer backup rider. We definitely had plenty of sewer backed up! Insurance on our vehicles was great. We were able to replace them without any difficulties.
We and our neighbors moved all of our good stuff over to our new house. Our neighbors who became our "Roommates" moved into three of the bedrooms and used the unfinished game room as their storage room. With the help of girlfriends, I worked on getting bedrooms set up for my kids. This had been very hard on both of them. I was hopeful that by getting their rooms together that they could start settling in. Puppy was taking online classes that had started and were continuing without her. She really needed to get settled so that she could get back to class. (Allow me to have a mom brag moment here. Even with starting out two weeks behind, Puppy played catchup and came out with excellent grades both AP English and AP Chemistry. That little girl worked very very hard under extreme circumstances for those grades!)
Unfortunately, not everything went as smoothly at the new house as we had hoped. To start off with, we had a clogged sewer. Urgh! We just went through a flood and now a clogged sewer at the house that didn't flood. Not fun! After going a couple of weeks without being able to use the sewer and going through three different plumbing companies, we finally called the former homeowner, figured out where the outside sewer pipe is located, and got it all replaced. During this time period, we spent some time at the home of one of The Professor's coworkers. Such sweet people. They had previously experienced a flood so they could relate with what we were going through. The coworker had also helped move things to our new house. On the days we stayed at the new house, I learned to bathe standing in a plastic crate. LOL. I would stand in the crate in the shower, let the crate catch the water, then The Professor would carry the crate outside and dump it. I am so glad that memory makes me laugh. At the time, it was not very funny! The Professor was bathing at the flood house without hot water.
We also learned when the brand new clothes dryer wasn't drying our clothes that the dryer vent pipe going through the ceiling was completely clogged. The Professor and I discovered this about midnight one night. Yes, we were up in the attic above the second floor banging around trying to unclog the vent pipe. Oh my! If only I had a video camera going. I know that was a sight to see!
Our Roommates were the smart ones during all these mishaps and stayed with friends. I have to say they were great Roommates. They experienced us at our worst and still speak to us! At this point, we are more like family. We have shared way too much together. We often joked, "What happens in the Buckles' house stays in the Buckles' house." We really thought we should have our own reality show.
Our Roommates were with us until mid January 2018. No, their house is still not finished. They moved into their upstairs with the downstairs still under construction. They are hopeful that it will one day be finished.
We are still working on both of our houses. The Professor's primary focus has been the flooded house and mine the new house. However, we have each done work at both houses. Our former church, FBC Humble, blessed us greatly by providing for the flooded house all of the insulation and sheetrock. They went a step further and lined up a work crew from New Jersey to install the insulation and sheetrock. The Professor has acted as our general contractor. He has spent many hours cleaning and doing what jobs he can do himself. The rest he has hired various workers to do. I have spent my time making our new house our home. I have been to a lot of antique/junk stores. I thoroughly enjoy finding a great bargain! We still have a ways to go on both houses, but we are getting closer every day. Our prayer is that we can get the flood house back on the market sooner than later and that it will sell!
There are several things that stand out in my mind for which I will forever be grateful.
- The friends who stocked our frig and pantry at the new house.
- The friends who washed all of my muddy dishes.
- Those who brought us meals for weeks after the flood.
- Those whom I do not know that sent gift cards in the mail.
- The friend in Oklahoma who took up a collection and had gift cards delivered to her friends who flooded.
- The friend who did my laundry when my new washer and dryer weren't working properly.
- The friends who took Little Man home with them to get him away.
- The friend who let me spend the day at her house doing laundry.
- The friend who went out of her way to bring me chocolate!
- The friend who gave me furniture and left bags of chocolate for me.
- The way our community came together. No one cared about skin color, one's line of work, or in which neighborhood one lived. We were all flood victims. Love was in abundance. I pray as we move further and further away from the flood that we can keep that love flowing.
You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
LORD my God, I will praise you forever.
Psalm 30:11-12
There is JOY in praising God in all circumstances.
Tami
