Surviving My Blessings

Other titles considered:
When it Rains it Pours
April Showers Bring May Flowers

I know that I could write a novel about the month of May 2010, but I will try to give the condensed story.

May 1, 2010:
It was 7:40am and the baby was crying. I swung my feet over the side of the bed and stepped onto the floor with one foot. It was wet. Jacob had crawled in bed with us early that morning, so I assumed that he had spilled the cup of water on my nightstand. I was a little upset. I took off my socks and then put both feet down. "Wow, he must have spilled alot of water," I thought. "Maybe the toilet is leaking." So I walked into the bathroom where there was standing water. Huh. I walked out of the bedroom and into the hall. "Why in the world is the carpet soaking wet?" I continue walking down the hall and into the living room and I notice that the water is deeper here. I walk into the kitchen and the water is at my ankles. I call to Lee..."Something is wrong here." Then Lee calls back, "Have you looked outside?" I look outside and see that it is pouring down rain and the water is already above the tires on the car.

This is when I lost it.

I think that I thought it was happening faster than what it really was because of the difference in the amount of water from the back of the house to the front. Once I looked outside I thought it was only a matter of time and the water would continue to rise inside the house. Lee then, very calmly, told me to chill out and "they won't let a bunch of sailors drown!" This is when I let my mind slip into semi-permanent vacation. If it weren't for that little survival mechanism I would have been inconsolable. Before I went on vacation I called my mom and nearly gave her a heart attack. I was under the impression that my dad could just hop on his boat and come save us. Luckily it wasn't long before a boat did come for us.

We were actually told that the water shouldn't rise any higher and that it should start receding. It was later that we found out that a levee had broken and heard rumor that Lee's car had been moved all the way down the street (which was true). Then we were told that in addition to this nasty river water there was sewage and gasoline mixed in making it necessary to hose off the people who were being evacuated after us.

Long story short, my parents finally made it into Millington on Sunday to pick us up and take us to their home in Milan. We waited there several days and our imaginations were running wild. But I was still in vacation mode.

I'll get on with it.....this is what we found when they FINALLY let us back in to photograph and catalog EVERY SINGLE THING in our home, so we could file with our insurance.

I've just chosen a few photos from the THOUSANDS that we took.

This table was actually found in the back yard. It was originally in my living room. Lee bought it for me for our second wedding anniversary. I believe it was our first real furniture purchase.

This rocking chair was mine when I was little.

I had just bought this beautiful pack and play a few weeks prior.

Most of these are animals that Lee gave to me when we were dating....the 7 years before we were married.

I pined for these lamps. Lee bought one for me and his parents bought the other one for me for my birthday a couple of years ago. It's really funny now to think about all the times that I told Jacob to be careful and not break that lamp!!!

We just purchased a new kitchen table and chairs.

Inside the van. Inside the van that we just paid off. As we walked out of the bank the day we paid it off we laughed and said, "Just watch, the whole thing will fall apart now!"

The kitchen was disgusting. The pictures are great, but there's no way to describe the heat and smell in that house.

The crib that my brother, me, Jacob and Adam all slept in.






Alot of good that cleaning caddy will do.

The antique buffet that I waited and waited and waited for.


Thousands of dollars in books between us and the kids. Those are the new bookshelves my dad built for me.

A lamp that belonged to my grandmother.




I believe Adam's room was by far the worst. This is my Grandmother's cedar chest that contained my wedding gown.

When I would hear about disasters on the news before this I would think, "That really stinks for them." Then I would go about my business. Now I know that it REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY stinks for them....and it breaks my heart.

We were incredibly fortunate. We had insurance on the vehicles and renter's insurance. And the Navy will pick up anything that our private insurance doesn't. We have been moved into a different house on base...one that didn't get flooded. It is the exact same floor plan so I feel like I'm in some kind of alternate universe. Due to this floor plan, I have put EVERYTHING in a different place than it was in the old house. It is driving Lee crazy but preserving my sanity.

The hardest part about all of this was first of all, explaining to Jacob that all of his toys...his very best friends and playmates were dirty, and we wouldn't be able to go and get them. He had nightmares for a while but they seem to be gone. He still talks about the boat and how it saved us.

The second hardest part was the actual process of going into the house and going through all of our things. This forced my mind out of vacation, and on the second day I couldn't take anymore. On the way back to my parent's house I started to cry...then I got a migraine...then I started running a fever. Lee told me that I wasn't allowed to go back. So I didn't. I went back on vacation.

The third hardest part was refurnishing. I can't tell you how many people made the comment, "Oh poor you, you have to buy all new things." Well, when you are dragging around a baby (who is still nursing), a three year old and a man who has just lost his orthotics in a flood and has a low tolerance for shopping....it is not fun.

In conclusion, this tragedy has been a blessing. Yes, I will miss many things that I lost. Yes, I wish I had some of them back. Yes, the whole thing was horrible. But, I've had the money I need to completely refurnish a house and it looks like it will also stretch to pay off my student loans. It has been the hardest blessing I've had to endure thus far. But how can I complain?