the flood

Well, if you told me on Monday that this is the post I would be writing today, I would laugh. And laughing we have been. It has been a crazy, crazy week, in so many ways, some of which I can't even share with you yet. But now I'm rambling, let's get back to the post: the flood on Primrose Avenue.

This story actually began several months ago when we noticed that our basement shower would fill with water every time it rained or snowed. Water would come up through the drain, fill the shower basin and then overflow into the bathroom. A couple of times, there was so much that it leaked out into the bedroom next door. We reported this to our property management company, and while they sent some guys out to take a look, no action was ever taken to fix the problem.

Oh well, said we. It's not our house. We're moving in three months. They can deal with it later after we're gone.

Monday night brought a whopper of a rainstorm. Tuesday morning revealed a whopper of a flood. By the time Brian left for school, the water was at least an inch high throughout half of our basement, with more gushing out of the shower and a fountain gurgling up from the sump pump. Not good.

I left a message with the landlord and went to an ob appointment. (This was the bright spot of the day - getting to hear our baby's healthy heartbeat!) When I returned home an hour later, the water level had doubled. I started to move everything I could (I am 19 wks pregnant, mind you) to the far wall of the basement that was still somewhat dry. I called Brian to come home and help. By the time he got here, everything was sitting in water.

That's when everything in the basement had to be moved upstairs. To put it lightly, our house is a MESS.

Did I mention that on Wednesday, the next day, Brian was scheduled to take his board exam (basically the test that determines if he graduates or not). He's been preparing for months, but was hoping to have one quiet last day to focus and prepare. Quiet and focused day he did not receive. But isn't that the way life goes? :)

To spare you a complete recounting of the rest of the day's drama, here are the highlights:

- The water reached 5 inches high, in some places even higher.

- After sloshing around it all day, we discovered that the flood was technically "sewage water." The sump pump was illegally tied into the sewer lines and it was all flowing into the house. While there wasn't any poo visibly floating around, it is still disgusting. So gross.

- There was tons of mold behind the baseboards. All of them had to be ripped out. Any part of the drywall with mold on it has now been cut out.

- They had to install a new sump pump.

- The toilet upstairs had to be removed so that they could access the plumbing. This meant no toilet for a pregnant lady for 3 hours. That is a LONG TIME! The plumber reinstalled it incorrectly and then left at 9 pm. I realized after he was gone that water was leaking out of the bottom of it but at that point there was nothing we could do but mop it up every few hours until he came back the next afternoon.

- In the next few weeks, they are going to have to dig out the front yard to rework the sump pump and sewage system.

- There are now something like 10 commercial fans and 5 de-humidifiers going full force in our basement. After everything is thoroughly dried, they will replace the padding, carpet, dry wall and baseboards.

You can probably see the water best in this video:

Wow. Nothing like leaving this house with a bang!

BUT. As much of a nightmare as this day was, the following day (in which I struggled to get out of bed and greet the mess around me) held a dream come true. You will have to bear with me and be patient until I can fill you in.

And for those of you wondering, Brian's boards went well. They were hard and long and draining, but he feels that he did everything he could have to prepare. We won't get the results back for a month, so he's leaving it in the Lord's hands. I have a feeling that he did just fine. :)

All day long on Tuesday, these old Caedmon's Call lyrics kept coming to mind. I hope they'll lift your spirits today, whether you're having a fabulous or frustrating day:

This day's been crazy,

but everything's happened on schedule

From the rain and the cold

to the drink that I spilled on my shirt

Cause you knew You'd save me

before I fell dead in the garden

And you knew this day

long before You made me out of dirt

(Table for Two)