....we were awakened by a loud knock at the door. We always lock our doors but for some reason we hadn't locked the front door that night. So, as we went to see who was at the door our neighbor was sticking his head into the entryway, trying to wake us up. He told us that his house was already starting to get water and it was moving fast. Rob and I started working on adrenaline, helping neighbors and putting stuff up high that wouldn't get damaged if we got water. Instead of putting furniture and other expensive items up high we put toys and kitchenware on top of counters. We put photo albums as high as we could possibly reach. At some point, P woke up and helped us despite it being the middle of the night. We were down to one vehicle so Rob got his boat close to my little SUV in case we had to go anywhere by boat. He took our portable safe to a neighbor's where she could put it on the 2nd story of her house so our important documents would stay dry. And then we waited. And watched as water steadily moved from the road up into our yard. I prayed. I called my mom and asked their church to pray.
At some point our neighbors got more water in their house and it wasn't safe for them to stay there. So they moved in next door, to our neighbors to the immediate right of our house. At some point water started creeping into that house and so our neighbors came to stay with us for a "few days". At some point I gave up hope, knowing that if our next door neighbor got water we would too. It was just a matter of time. At some point we realized that I hadn't stocked up on groceries and that we were out of Coke. At some point the National Guard came by in the biggest tank type vehicle I have ever seen up close and asked if we needed to be rescued. At some point the rain stopped only to start up again a few minutes later, bringing even more anxiety.
That day runs together in my mind. I remember little snippets of it. A neighbor saying he killed a snake that was swimming in the water by his house. The helicopters that kept flying over. The make-shift yardstick that we put in the front yard that measured how many inches we were at. Our yellow lab that kept having to use the bathroom. (I thought his pee may put the water over the edge of our threshold.) The kids playing in Rob's boat because they needed to get out of the house for a few minutes, to get some fresh air. Checking my weather app and just watching the yellow and orange and red swirling around my screen, showing no end in sight. The adults wading out front in their rainboots to check on conditions and to check in with neighbors. AT&T going out, meaning we lost internet and our neighbors lost phone service. Trying not to let my tears be seen while I did my best to keep it together for our neighbors and the kids.
Late in the day the rain finally came to an end. Over two feet of water fell. Over 7.1 TRILLION gallons of water filled the waterways, roadways, houses and buildings. We put our furniture back in place and discovered that we had only received about a square foot of water in the master bedroom. For the first time since Friday I was able to breathe. I knew the worst was behind us. Or so I thought....
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