Tag: neighborhoods

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And the Creek Did Rise…

My uncles say, “Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.” Well, yesterday the creeks overflowed, the rivers are still rising and the sewer rose right into my basement. Our sump pump is working fine, so while we’re unable to flush our toilets and take showers, we don’t have much water damage like thousands of others in the Chicago area. We did not have to be rescued by boat and we did not lose our car underwater. For that, I am extremely grateful. Our neighbors, who do have a working sewer, invited us over last night to use their bathrooms and feed us cake. Yay for good neighbors!

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You, too? I thought I was the only one.” ~C.S. Lewis

Ed graciously offered to let us stay in a hotel room, but I wanted to stick it out at home. Yes, it is a pain, but I think I would have been too anxious about our house if we left last night. As for comfort, I like sleeping in my own bed.

“Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort.” ~Jane Austin

I may not be able to run the dishwasher, but we have electricity. I can’t do laundry; however, our washer and dryer are not under water. In this crazy Chicago weather, we are now having snow flurries. At least we have a warm house. We have a solid roof over our heads and a mostly dry basement under our feet. The water puddle is slowly receding and I’m hopeful that we will be able to run water by tonight or tomorrow.

splashing puddles

The water company has kindly listened to our phone calls and sent out an investigator. He assured me that the sewer would soon start running normally. We have a low sewer line compared to some of our neighbors, which is the reason our line backed up.

Our school district is up and running and the girls are at school. Ed has been able to get to work. We just have so many things to be thankful for!

“In three words, I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” ~Robert Frost

This post brought to you by Spin Cycle and the prompt: My Favorite Quotes.

How has your week been?

Second Blooming

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Wait–What’s Broken?

I glanced out the front window as I was picking up the toys scattered around the living room. A muddy stream of water was running down the street. “Hmmm,” I thought to myself. “They must be flushing out the hydrants.” But then the stream grew wider, and I grew curiouser. Shoving my feet into my shoes, I stepped outside. Water was not gushing out from a hydrant. It was gushing up from the ground and the whole street was quickly filling up with water. Neighbors were standing out on their lawns, trying to call someone who would come fix what was broken. Those who were not on the phone were in the water with rakes in their hands, clearing the sewer drains from fallen leaves. The school bus arrived and drove slowly through the water, causing waves to lap up people’s driveways.

And the water kept gushing up from the ground.

Our street, flooded

I had to go pick up the girls, so I walked away from the gushing water and toward the school. I could hear people yelling at cars to turn around. The water was getting way too deep. Just a few minutes later a police car arrived. The officer blocked off the street and yelled a cheerful greeting to the girls as we walked home. A fire truck soon pulled up. The neighbors, police officers and firemen all stood around and watched helplessly as the water shot out of the ground. The muddy swirls were mesmerizing. There was nothing left to do but wait.

Lily has her notebook, ready to report the breaking news story!

Finally, the water company arrived. They had to shut off the water slowly so that no other water mains would burst. Someone advised me to go fill up buckets with water while I still could so that we could flush the toilets when the water went off completely. The girls and I went inside and filled up buckets and even a couple of pots. It was kind of like telling someone to go and boil water when a baby is about to be born…it occupies one’s time but in the end is unnecessary. The water was contaminated so we couldn’t use it for anything but flushing the toilet, but we weren’t without water for long. The water company worked well into the night, keeping me awake with the generators, trucks and bright lights, but having the water back on in the morning was well worth a little lost sleep.

Mama’s Losin’ It

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