The Great Harris Flood of 2009

Ahhh, vacation days. Monday was a holiday here and Scott was due to return from his trip to Strasbourg. Picnic with friends planned for later in the day. The kids and I slept in...

Anna and I were the first to get up and discovered water pooled throughout most of the apartment. Adrenalin is a very effective stimulant, btw.

So, here are three irritating things that happened between 8:50 and 9am:

1. Ummm, my house had turned into a pond.

2. I gathered up the soaked-through area rug from the living room, slipped (cartoon-style), and fell flat on my back into the pond. Then put on my crocs which served me well throughout the morning.

3. Quickly worked to sop up water in the hallway by wringing towels out into a wastebasket (it was within reach), lifted the very full of water wastebasket to dump it into the bathtub, and the bottom fell off. My own little waterfall. Lovely.

And three things for which I was grateful:

1. The water was not coming from the toilet. Very grateful as this happened to a neighbor last Christmas and the sight of sewage in our pond would have sent me way over the edge.

2. The water was not coming from a faucet, which meant this was not due to any overt stupidity. Phew.

3. Scott was due home from the train station in half an hour.

So, I put the kids to work. Anna was actually quite enthusiastic (maybe a little too enthusiastic). And when Justin said he couldn't help anymore, I let him know that not helping was not an option (although I wasn't that polite about it). I did let them take a break for breakfast.

The problem is the water heater. A plumber is coming late this afternoon, but for now we're heating water on the stove when we need it. Nothing is ruined.

And yesterday was a stunningly beautiful day. We made it to a lovely picnic with friends from church.