15 years ago my mom's office (which had only been open for 14 months) was filled with 3 feet of standing water for almost 2 weeks. I don't remember much. I do remember watching my parents wade through the hip deep water trying to fully asses all the damage. It was devastating. All the flooring, bottom cabinetry, and bottom parts of the drywall along with 90% of electrical had to be replaced. My mother was out of business for 6 weeks. Rush Animal Care Clinic was non existent. It reopened on her birthday in August. She thought that she would never have to go through that again; now with all the advancements in flood prevention. She dropped her flood insurance 2 years ago because it was 700 bucks a month. And for something that hadn't been an issue for 13 years; was too expensive. Within the next 24 hours, this could become a reality for my mother, once again.
Monday- 1:30 pm. I get the voice mail from my mother. The one I hoped would never come.
'Manda, it's your mom. Call me.' She sounded serious. I called her. 'Manda, we need you to come down here. It might happen again. We have to move...everything.' Nick and I booked it down to my mom's office. There for the next 7 hours we moved non stop. A majority of the items in the office went up to the attic. Boxes of books, all 4000 of the patient's files, small hand held equipment, 2 computers, grooming equipment, and some small furniture. My poor mother was completely lost yesterday. She didn't sleep at all last night. I could see it in her eyes, the realization of losing her office again. It's one thing to be out of work due to a disaster. It's another things entirely to lose your place of work. Her office is what pays the bills, feeds my sister, gives her car a full tank. Allows her to live. 13 years ago, my mother was married and had a second source of income. That income won't be there if her office goes under.
After all the small stuff went up, it was time to move larger things. Nick's parents came down and helped us move all the doors (2 which are lined with lead) up to my garage, and the freezer where dead things go. Fortunately, the freezer got emptied out yesterday morning. That's all we could do yesterday.
Tuesday: 9am. My mom and I come rolling in with a U haul truck. My grandpa and I take apart all the computer desks, draw files, and other large movable items. The office is down to minimal operations for the rest of the day. Then I had to go to work. I come back around 4. The auto business next door has moved all of its cars. The body shop connected to her is getting the rest of their stuff out. The Casey's across the lot is empty. Not even a crumb remains. I walk in to the deserted office. The washer and dryer have been hoisted up onto the counters. There's nothing left in any of the lower cupboards. No pictures on the walls. Balls of dog hair roll across the floor like tumble weeds. At that point I leave to get sand bags. I get to Public Services and fill up the jeep with 40 sandbags. My mom's emplyee and her mother have already made 3 prior trips. The back door has been boarded up with heavy duty plastic and 20 or so sand bags. The crowd gathers out at the front desk and waits as my mom changes the voice mail. 'We're in the line of the flood. We don't know how long we'll be out, please bare with us.' The office is desolate. Nothing is left. It's awful. My mother has out so much work into that office. We walk out the front door and board it up. The U-haul pulls out, I follow. I'm going back tomorrow at 6am to put sandbags around the remainder of the office, that is if it isn't flooded.
Wednesday- ?
~Until Then
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