And there came a flood

It seems that we are always having some kind of adventure at our house. What I would give for a few weeks of nothingness.

Sunday was a most hectic day for us. Timmy recently got a new job and had to be at work at 11:00 on Sunday. So at 10:30 Scot kissed me good bye and they headed out the door. I was in my sewing room repairing a pair of shorts for Shawn that was not worth the trouble. They were so old and worn. I sighed and gave up. I put the last load of laundry in the washing machine and went back to my sewing room again. I needed to replace a zipper in a skirt for Chrissie. It was a tedious job since I had to take half the skirt apart to do it. But I was determined to finish it so I got very engrossed in the project. The radio was playing and I was in my own little world. It took me about an hour and I was finished. Just in time for Scot to be home. I heard the dogs getting excited so I knew he was coming in the front door. I got up to go greet him and as he was coming in the door I heard him yell, "SHEILA!!!!"

And then I saw it for myself.

The washing machine had been filling up for an hour. There was a flood like I have never seen before. I ran to the washing machine ever so gently so as not to slip and fall, and hit the button to stop the water flow. I also noticed that I was really wading in about 2 inches of water. It had spread all through the utility room, into the kitchen and was just touching the edges of the carpet in both the front room and the family room. Then I heard it, the sound of a waterfall. The register vents in a mobile home are on the floor. The water was falling down the kitchen vent at rapid speed. Panic struck both of us. Did you ever notice how fast your reactions are when panic strikes? Thank goodness we have one of those water sucker upper machines! We pulled it out of the closet (grateful it was not outside in the shed) and had it together in no time. Scot was dragging it through the water before I could unwind the cord. It was plugged in and he was getting busy. I went back to the utility room and opened the back door. Where to start? Mopping was useless, so I got the broom and began to sweep water out the back door. The flood seemed to be never ending. Scot had his first load of water to dump. He was carrying it to the kitchen sink and heaved it up to dump it. There was way too much water in the tub and most of it spilled right back on the floor.

I won't tell you what he said.

Guess for yourself.

At this point I did not make any eye contact. I just kept sweeping. I was sort of laughing inside, it is just his luck that something like that would happen when he is under stress. The other full tubs of water were dumped in the bathtub. Thank goodness for one-floor homes. The back yard was beginning to look like a swamp at this point. With all the rain we have been having and now this, it may never dry out. On my hands and knees now, I am sopping up water with towels and wringing them out in a bucket. The bucket gets dumped out the back door. It is never ending.

Bucket after bucket out the back door.

Tub after tub of water into the bathtub.

My jeans were soaked to the knees, the dogs are wading around in water. The cats are hiding, somewhere up high, I am sure. No time to look for them now. I had a thought of dread at that moment. What if it seeped through the walls into the other side of the house? Our closet and bedroom are on the other side. I went to check and could not believe our good fortune. The rooms were dry! Scot unscrewed the register vents. There was a lot of water to suck up down there. Lots of dirty water I might add. But just think, now our vents are real clean.

By one o'clock we just about had it done. Jeremy and Jinny arrived about that time and Jeremy asks, "Are you guys doing some heavy duty cleaning today?" The water sucker upper machine was still going. I was still on my hands and knees sopping.

"Ah, no", I said, "We had a flood."

He looked at me strange, as to ask what do you mean?

I said, "The washer filled up for an hour straight."

"Oh!" he said, and raised his eyebrows.

He sat down at the table to quietly read the Sunday paper and get out of the way. We finally finished. And the rest of the troops arrived. And so we share the story with all of them. The carpet under the dining room table was a bit soggy no matter how much Scot worked on it. So anytime someone stepped on it they either slid (if they had sneakers on) or the bottom of their jeans slowly but surely got soaked. I guess the floor mopping I was going to do on Monday won't be necessary?