The Flood...

I haven't wanted to post about this...I haven't even wanted to think about this or remember it if I could possibly forget it because it was just that traumatizing for me, but it's probably good for me to record the good with the bad in this little history I'm keeping...we had a flood. In our new home. It was sad. Really horrible actually. And it was my fault. This happened when Owen was three weeks old. It was a Saturday morning and both Gavin and Connor had baseball games that morning back to back. I was trying to get the big boys ready for their games at the same time that I was trying to get a load of wash going. That's when I noticed that one of the kids underwear was a little soiled and not wanting to throw that in the wash with the little baby clothes I decided to soak it in the bathroom sink first. I plugged up the sink and started the water, hollered down to the kids to hurry and get their cleats on when I remembered that Owen had leaked out of his diaper and needed a new outfit. I went to Owen's room to get the outfit and forgot about the running water in the bathroom sink...I also couldn't hear the water running because the washing machine was going and that's all I could hear. So, off we went to game #1, then 1/2 hour break and on to game #2, then we decided to go out for a nice family lunch...the first we'd attempted since having our new baby. We decided to go ahead and go to one of our favorite places...we had a coupon for one free meal afterall...it's in Provo...almost an hour away...no biggy...we're not in any hurry...
When we finally made our way home we pulled into the driveway and heard the fire alarm going off...it was beeping that horribly loud beep and also talking to us saying "fire, fire" My heart dropped! I thought our house was on fire...we yelled for the kids to stay outside...ran in ourselves to see if we could see any smoke or anything...nothing...ran upstairs and started splashing in water...I remember vaguely thinking...I didn't know we had sprinklers in our house for fires...Jason ran down to the basement to shut off the water not knowing where it was coming from...at this point I still couldn't remember what I had done...shows you how sleep deprived I was with my new baby. (As a side note, the day after I had Owen I woke up with a sore throat which turned into one of the worst colds I can remember ever having...Owen caught it so I'd been sleeping half-way sitting up in bed trying to keep Owen propped up so he wouldn't get too stuffy). Finally, I ran into the bathroom, slipped a swear word when I realized what I'd done and was just too shocked to even cry at that point. Jason ran back upstairs, and I said, "I found out where the water's coming from...it's my fault!" This shows you the wonderful, amazing husband that I have that in this moment of complete chaos and crisis his only response was, "It's okay, we'll figure it out." Wow. He didn't even seem angry or ask me what I was thinking...maybe some of the things if I'm being completely honest that I might have said to him if the roles were reversed in my moment of shock...
Anyway, it was bad...really bad. The water had been running for so long that it was running down from the top floor and starting to bow down the ceiling to the main level of the home...it was running down the wall from the 2nd floor to the main floor bubbling up the paint...it was leaking through the ceiling on the main level...onto that floor...and down into the unfinished basement. I thought, "I've completely ruined our home. We've waited 9 years for this home and after having it for less than a year I've completely ruined it." I felt hopeless and foolish and shocked at what I'd done.
We called a disaster clean up company, then I remember nursing Owen and wondering how in the world this will ever be made right and practical things like, "will insurance even cover my mistake?" Scary. I knew the kids and I couldn't stay there...especially Owen only being three weeks old...I knew they'd have to take out the ceiling on the main level...they did...and part of the wall where the paint had bubbled up. The kids and I went to my cousin's house in American Fork to stay the night...I didn't even pack anything except diapers. The next morning my cousin was in labor so I knew we couldn't stay there any longer. We called Jason's parents to see if the kids and I could stay with them in Idaho until things were cleaned up a little bit...the only problem was that our van's service engine light was on...I talked to the neighbor who's a mechanic and he found out the problem and said we'd be okay to drive it to Idaho. So off we went with many pit-stops to nurse the baby. The last stop we made was at a McDonalds so the kids could potty...Gavin had to go so bad that I told the three older kids to run in to the girls bathroom and I'd grab the baby and be right there. By the time I got there I realized that someone had thrown up in the bathroom sink (not my kids) and my kids were right by it...Aidan was touching it. We went back to the car and got hand sanitizer and I made them wash really well when we got to Grandma's house. It was too late...a couple days later Aidan was throwing up so I had to juggle cleaning up after him and trying to keep my newborn away from the sickness...luckily Jason's mom helped take care of Aidan so I could nurse and take care of Owen. Meanwhile, Jason was trying to work from home and deal with the cleanup crews and 20 (yes 20) large fans and 2 dehumidifiers in our house...he said it sounded like jets taking off...yeah no way we could have had our newborn baby home in that! We stayed in Idaho for a full week, but it took over a month to have everything cleaned up. Insurance did cover the damages (sooo thankful!) except for our $1,000 deductible...but it was over $8,000 worth of damage....
The next few weeks at home were spent with the usual sleep deprivation of having a newborn and three other children to take care of...not to mention end of the school year recitals to attend for Gavin, and dealing with all the different fix it crews coming to put in new padding for the carpet, paint our walls and ceiling once the drywall was re-done, put in a new bathroom floor, stretch and clean the carpets, put the toilet back in, and finally a new bathroom sink. Luckily, everything was taken care of and dried up before there was a chance of mold.
I decided that we needed something fun...I knew we weren't going to be able to do much with what was left from our tax-return, but I saw that Wal-Mart had trampolines with nets for under $250. We surprised the kids with the trampoline only to have it blow away a week later...and hit the neighbors siding...it left a little dent which the neighbor wanted fixed...I got a quote from a siding company for $500 to fix it. So frustrating and depressing...especially since we have other neighbors who've had trampolines for years that are not tied down in any way that have never blown away. We decided it might be safe to put the trampoline back up without the net so it wouldn't catch the wind and put bags of soil on the bottom...a week later it blew away again...this time into our house...I was so shocked I dropped the baby...and felt horrible about it. I think somewhere in my mind I must have thought I was holding Aidan and just setting him down. I took Owen to urgent care even though he looked fine and felt so bad when I had to explain my reason for being there...I dropped him. He is fine so that is definitely good. This time the trampoline broke open our siding so it definitely has to be fixed so moisture doesn't get in. A couple weeks later I took Owen in for his two month check-up and found out he might need spinal surgery. I was feeling dumped on...I was feeling worn out...I know you're not supposed to complain to God in prayers or ask why, but I really felt like it...I felt like not just asking why, but whinning...whhhyyyy. This is so hard. With Aidan I had a really hard time with the postpartum time...I didn't want to admit it to anyone that I was suffering from a very debilitating depression because I felt weak that I couldn't buck up and overcome it. I wanted everything to be perfect this time...I wanted a Spring baby where we wouldn't have to worry as much about him getting sick and the sun would be out...(we did get a Spring baby, but it was still snowing off and on). I even asked to be released from my calling at Church as a primary teacher and stopped volunteering in Gavin's class...I wanted life to slow down for a bit...so I could have the best possible postpartum period. I thought I had it all planned out, but I think this just goes to show that it's not in my hands. I can plan all I want, but sometimes things don't work out just the way we want them. During this time I read an article in the Ensign magazine that said something about how sometimes when trials come in a row it's because God knows we're ready for growth. I asked Jason if he thought we were done growing for the month, he sighed and said, "I hope so." We did try to keep as much of a positive attitude as we could...afterall things were able to be fixed and the insurance covered most of everything...Jason even joked that our fire alarm which was going off because it was soaked in water should have been programed to say "I'm drowning, I'm drowning" instead of "fire, fire." We tried to laugh...I was tried of crying. I don't know exactly what Jason and I are supposed to learn from all this...one change I've noticed in me is that I'm starting to be a lot calmer about the "little things" in life...the little spills and mistakes...I'm trying harder to not be so hard on my kids because when I made this one HUGE mistake, no one tried to make me feel bad about it and I appreciate that. Maybe this happened so the good moments in life would feel a little more tender...because they do. And, maybe I needed to be a little humbled...compelled to be humble...I'm definitely feeling it. Maybe it's so my prayers will be a little more heartfelt and a little more sweet...because they are.