Sigh. The floods are (both) gone, and now….the real work begins.
My house is in ruins, our belongings are gone and wreaked. It just keeps right on piling up, because now we are getting sick from all the sewage, mold, dampness, etc. And I keep finding more and more things that need to be thrown away. Just last night I was trying to put away things we had “saved”- and really, not so much- I had to throw out 3 of the very few Thomas trains we had believed we got in time, as well as more of my clothes- they must have gotten splashed as I was carrying them up, because they had strange, splashy stains on them, in all sorts of odd colors that I don’t want to think about.
Both of my “Little Black” dresses? Gone. UGH! You know how it is with your Little Black Dress. That was a particular brand of upsetting.
I had sort of “made peace” with the fact that we lost most of our stuff, as much as you can make peace with that. However- finding things now, that we thought were OK, and having to throw them away is just too much to handle.
Look at my once-beautiful basement. The basement is the reason we bought this house. It was beautiful- with a bathroom, office area, door to the backyard, and less then a block to the park. Now look at it. I ran a daycare out of here for years! My kids had their playroom here!
We had a walled off area that was my “closet” since I didn’t have one in the bedroom, and I am a bit of a “clothes horse”- and worse with shoes.
Now? Look at my house. We still have 4 more walls to take down, and finish tearing up the floors. Every time a wall goes down or a floor area comes up, a wall of stagnant sewage comes rushing out, and I cannot describe for you the smell.
There is no end in sight. FEMA has come, but has not made any promises. Our homeowners insurance guy came last night, and the flood insurance person has not even called back yet- they may not help at all, but it does look like the foundation shifted a bit, so maybe they will. God willing, it did and they will- and they will just let us leave the house and insurance will buy it out or however that works.
I know it’s just “stuff”. But it’s all our stuff, so much of it- and it’s the house, and all the hard work and money and time that made a house a home. I want my home back. I want my son to stop waking up crying about water getting him, asking if the water will come back, and why I “let” all his toys float away. That poor child.
All that we have worked so hard for. Just gone in a second. This whole area, we are just so beaten down right now. The water has finally receeded, and the streets opened again last night. I think they are all clear all over now- perhaps one of these days, the school will open. Maybe even before Halloween! 😛
