I didn't like having a nice kitchen anyway.

Today started out like a typical morning, I walked down the stairs and headed towards my coffee maker as quickly as my tired legs could go.  I heard water running and grew concerned and realized rather quickly that I was walking in water, at least an inch of water.  In my brand new kitchen, with the beautiful hardwood floors. 

I saw the water was coming from the back of the refrigerator, I called Brian who is on a business trip in North Carolina and I pulled the refrigerator out.  The water line that connects to the ice maker was no longer attached to the fridge.  In fact, when I pulled the fridge away from the wall, the hose was whipping around like a wild snake, I felt like I was reenacting the scene from Mr. Mom when he fights the hose from the washing machine, the water was spraying all over my kitchen and on my face and my glasses, I was soaking wet, my floors, the cabinets, the walls, everything, was wet.

I didn't even know where or how to begin the clean up, I eventually got out the shop vac and almost filled it up two times from the water in the kitchen alone.  While on the phone with Brian he said "you may want to check out the basement."  No, actually I do not want to check out the basement at all, I wanted to reply, I'll just pretend we don't have a basement, m'kay?

But eventually I went downstairs to find water EVERYWHERE.  The couches and carpet we had downstairs are ruined, crib mattresses and car seats and boxes of clothes are  soaking wet.  In the basement, however, our items weren't just wet, they were muddy and disgusting.

I got the kitchen pretty dry and put out three fans and washed about 80 towels but I could look down at the wood and see it starting to warp, the dark edges of each piece made me want to weep.

We decided two things.  Number one, we need to hire a company to come and dry us out completely.  Number two, call the insurance company.

After awhile, a restoration company came by and worked on the clean up, they took pictures and prepared the paperwork to be sent to our insurance company, the kids and I left the house for the evening because their massive fans and de-humidifiers were just deafening.  I'm pretty annoyed that this happened because it FINANCIALLY sucks.  This move has been so incredibly expensive and we really wanted to get a new, much larger dining room table, along with about 40,000 other things.

But instead, we are paying for people to dry our house out.  Talked about an unplanned expense.

The funny thing is, though, I don't really care that this happened., I mean, it sucks, for sure, but it's tolerable.  We may not be buying a new table anytime soon, but we do have a table, and a roof over our heads and a family to share dinners with.  And although it sucks that we are having to spend thousands of dollars, that we really do not have, on this ridiculous thing that happened, we still have a beautiful home and we are so grateful.

I talked to my friend Christy this afternoon and she said "you know, (with her beautiful Texas accent) I hate to be cliche, but when it rains it pours."  and she's right, I am aware.  I would be lying to you if I said I never once thought "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO US?  CAN'T WE CATCH A BREAK?"  Because I did think those thoughts but followed by those thoughts, in all honesty, were thoughts of gratitude and being fully aware of the good that is in my life.

My husband is out of town for two weeks, but he's not in Iraq.  (my brother left today for Iraq and won't be back until March - please keep him and his family in your prayers)
My house flooded, but it's okay, the floors have to be resurfaced and soon this will all be a memory.
My boys, my sons, died inside my belly, but somehow they are so deeply engraved in my heart that I feel them with me.  It's almost like I can feel their hands on my shoulders during these stressful times, hands of support and grace and love, speaking to me telling me everything is going to be okay.

Although silver linings typically drive me crazy, I was pretty proud of myself for allowing myself to listen to those words of encouragement deep inside my heart and my brain.

This experience today, is something that will be added to our catalog of memories that happened in our new house.  Last night, after the kids went to bed, my girlfriends came over and we sat in the living room and laughed and ate nachos and chocolate mousse cake, and yesterday morning I sat and watched my children sleep.

I realize that tomorrow morning I may wake up with a really bad attitude about what happened today, or maybe we'll find out that the floor will have to be totally replaced, but for right now, I'm pretty grateful that all we experienced today was a flood in our kitchen and basement.  Not that big of a deal at all, really.

Comments

[Shantel]

Beth,

What a way to start your day, but you have the right attitude. You have so many things to be thankful for and if all you have to deal with is a flood, then I guess that is okay. I am a pretty positive person, but if I woke up to that mess, I am not so sure that I could be so positive. You should be thankful for a beautiful house and all that you have, but............. Anyway, glad you have such a great attitude. Your house is beautiful and love the color of your cabinets and your stairs. I will be thinking about Dan and his family and just keep hoping and praying he will be safe. Is he the one that just had the baby? That would be an awful way to live with a newborn, wife and other children at home.

Keep up the great attitude girl!!!

[Jen]

I am so sorry that this happened to your brand new, beautiful kitchen. But what a great attitude you have!! Could you come over here and let me soak up some of your positive vibes.

[Melissa]

Oh man. I don't know what else to say other than that sucks!!! I am sorry you are having such a hard time and I truly hope things start looking up for you! Great attitude though! ;o)

[wfbdoglover]

I feel horrible for you! I really do! I hope your insurance covers it and I am sorry about your downstairs furniture and items too!

[Sharon - Mom Generations]

Oh, Beth... I am so sorry that this happened. You describe it so perfectly, though, that I can just see you wrestling with that hose. That does suck. Bad. But your attitude is positively perfect. In the end, it is just water... and unlike many other things, water can be mopped up, squeezed, and flushed away. Done. Water can be sucked right out of fabrics and carpets. Done. This is the strength you have. Done.

In April '07, my husband and I woke up to a thunderous sound in our home. There were heavy winds and rain... a Nor'easter going on outside, and we thought a tree had fallen on the house. We ran from room to room upstairs. Then we headed downstairs. As I walked into our family room in the dark, I tripped on something. We turned on the lights to find that our chimney had imploded and bricks were scattered all over the room. I had tripped on bricks. The problem only got worse. Our house is OLD, and 4 fireplaces are connected to the same chimney... so 4 fireplaces in 4 rooms had suffered major damage. And rain was pouring in. The one light in all of this is that it happened when no-one was in the rooms. And my mom had been staying with us up until the previous night, recuperating from a major illness. We had actually set up a bedroom for her in our dining room. Had she been there, the bricks would have tumbled right on her. The impact was so intense that each bolted fireplace screen had been ripped from the frames. As the morning came, we found that the wind had sent bricks sailing into the street! We were very fortunate to get a chimney guy in the morning... and he spent 8 months rebuilding the chimneys. I say chimneys because we have 2 huge chimneys... and they had to match. He had to rebuild the destroyed one and then take down the good one and rebuild it to match the other one. The day the guy finished, I had him stand inside our biggest fireplace with big black boots on. I took lots of photos and I told my grandkids that Santa had come for a quick visit! Of course that set us back thousands of $$$$$$$$... but, like you, it was only money. Only water. Only bricks.

There are too many other things to pray and think and hope and dream for than these fix-it things.

I will be praying and thinking and hoping and dreaming for your brother and your family.

Much love,
Sharon

[deconstructing jen]

Beth you are amazing. Seriously. I'm not sure how I would have reacted in the same situation but you have the right attitude. In the wake of something really sucky I'm so happy to see you knowing that it's just stuff and none of it really matters. (((Hugs)))

[Tracye]

WOW is all I can say!

I was (at the beginning of this story!) thinking, "Oh! That JUST happened to us!" Except it didn't. We don't have a basement. And we have ceramic tile... so absolutely nothing was permanently damaged. I was really hoping that's how your story was going to end.

But it didn't, and I'm hoping you continue finding strength to stay as positive as you have been. You are so strong. Way stronger than anyone I know.

Keep it up, girlie! Just keep hanging in there. You're going to catch a break.

[Tari]

Awesome attitude!

And some sympathy: the weekend we moved in to our current house our stove, washer, dryer and dishwasher broke. The dishwasher flooded the kitchen, but at least we had icky vinyl flooring so no one cared (we still have it - oh well). That trip to Lowe's Monday AM on the way to work to order new appliances was not a fun one!

We actually went without the stove for about a month - the other items seemed a lot more important. We ate lots of sandwiches.

[Heather]

Holy crap, Beth. Just holy. crap. I'm sorry this happened and I do hope you catch a break soon. I admire your attitude and gratefulness and I can honestly say that I've learned something from you today.

[Diane]

Wow - I am so, so sorry! And you are taking this so well ... we all need to realize sometimes it's just not that horrible. And we'll definitely keep your brothers in our prayers. Hang in there - you're a tough one! :-)

[Megan (FriedOkra)]

Well gee whiz! I want you to catch a too. I'm glad the Great Flood of '08 hasn't gotten you down too much and I hope the damage to the floors turns out to be fixed with resurfacing AND I hope you are able to maintain your positive, thankful attitude through it all. I also hope you have a margarita or a glass of wine in your hands right now and you're having a relaxing evening.

[milk&honey]

Son of a bitch.

That's all I have to say about that. Oh, and I love you and your great attitude.

[Kellyn]

Such a way to start the day. We had friends that moved into a new house (as in just built) and one of the contractors forgot to insulate the external vent...in MN...where it gets to -30 during the winter. A pipe froze and burst. They spent 3 weeks in a hotel, living on takeout. But now, their house is almost new again, new floors, walls cabinets because it went from the upstairs all the way to the basement...yuck!

Silver linings are not always fun, or easy to remember but they can shed light that is much needed.

Tomorrow will be a better day!!

[Amy]

That totally stinks. Wow, what a great attitude and I do hope it is all covered by insurance for you guys.

[mary beth (CE's little sis)]

Oh Beth, I so know what you are going through! We are remodeling an old farmhouse so all of our stuff is in our finished basement while they work on the top floors. Well, our siding and gutters were taken off to make room for the new stuff and we had the monsoon of 2008! I came home to about 4 inches of water in my lovely homey basement (ok, as homey as a dark cave could be). Drenched ceiling tiles, water spewing from electrical sockets, and a charming little sputtering shower above the toilet all greeted me at 2 am. Long story short, the next day we are ripping up carpet and padding while I am choking back tears knowing that this disaster was going to cost me "the real honeymoon" (without the in-laws) to Cabo...damn sometimes life sucks major ass. Then, that day I was glued to the news as I watched the devastation unfold in southern Indiana and I knew I was grateful to be exactly where I was in our own little, tiny, miniscule predicament of a basement flood. Even though I felt my own sense of devastation I felt blessed we still had a home. Because no matter how messy and cluttered, and even a little smelly, it's still where we lay our heads and I'm thankful for that. I could go on for days about the adventures of home remodeling...the good, the bad, and darn right painful! So keep your head up girl, I'm right there with you...and I'm sure there is more to come that we will have to learn to roll with!

[elle]

dude, that sucks.

Good news is if the floors are real wood they will lay back down. It can take some time, but it does happen. We've had vases knocked over, all kinds of water damage and such and they smooth themselves back out. So hopefully you won't have to go through the hassle of having new floors put in. Cause that my friend is a big pain in the ass.

[midwestmommy]

Oh my! I totally did this to my parents house in high school. I ran the washing machine before bed. Well it got stuck on the fill cycle! Yep my dad woke up to walking in 4 inches of water in their finished basement at 5:00 AM. I guess a machine running for 10 hours straight can do that. Yea, he wasn't too happy with me!

[elaine]

You always amaze me. I mean really, it never ends- the amazement. I guess God really knew what he was doing with those 2 little angels of yours to guide you through even a crappy situation like this.

I pray things get resolved easily and swiftly!

[Elizabeth]

I am so sorry this happened. Living in an area that floods BAD whenever snow melts in the spring... and living with a sump pump that doesn't always turn on, I feel your pain. But in a brand new house!! Lots of prayers that things brighten up and you can have a chance to just RELAX in your new home.

[Betsy]

Dang, girl... Sounds like you're keeping it in perspective. This is merely a bump in the road. But, dang, girl! {{hugs}}

[ter]

I was reading another blog and someone mentioned you in their comment, and how you are a bereaved mother. I lost my daughter too (stillbirth), and so I thought I would come and visit your blog. Mine is http://withanangelonmyshoulder.blogspot.com if you want to visit.

It looks like you had an eventful start to your day, I think I might have broken down and cried! I hope it will all work out in the end.

[Kirsten]

Beth, I'm glad you were able to find the silver lining. Sometimes it is so hard. I am sorry, though. There is nothing like finding your stuff under water. Been there, wasn't fun. But you're right. It's a memory that you store and will one day be looked back on and laughed at the absurdity of it all.

Your brothers and your families are always in my prayers. I, too, find that consolation when my husband is out of town...he's not in Iraq or Afganistan (and he's in the guard, so the possibility does technically exist).

Here's to tomorrow being a shinier and less wet place!
Kirsten

[racheal]

that was such a beautiful post to read...i was really trying to hold back the tears but as soon as i read this "It's almost like I can feel their hands on my shoulders during these stressful times, hands of support and grace and love, speaking to me telling me everything is going to be okay." it was all over. in a good way though. i'm glad you're good thoughts. hugs.

[Rebecca (Ramblings by Reba)]

UGH! :(

[Megan]

Your are a stronger woman than I am!