A Second Cup of Coffee

The rain is relentless! 

A loud, booming cascade of thunder woke me at 4:04 AM this morning.  I know the exact time because I looked immediately at the clock on my night table!  My husband was sleeping soundly and I hoped the storm would not wake him, as I knew he would worry about the basement and the pool and probably not fall back to sleep.  I listened to thunder crack after thunder crack for quite a few minutes and heard the rain pelting against our bedroom window.  Finally, I must have dozed off – (which was apparent when the alarm blaring loudly was the next sound I heard).

We turned on the weather, as we always do in the morning, and were surprised to see late openings and school closings!  There was a mudslide that closed a major highway and apparently any road near a river, stream, creek, or even pond was impassable! Our pool is almost at the point of spilling over.  At times now, when the wind catches it just right, it looks like a wave pool at a water park!  It’s not supposed to look that way.  Luckily, at this moment, we still have power and our basement is dry.  Keep working sump pump!!

My husband dressed quickly and left early for work.   He wanted to get there before the roads became completely flooded.  He said he would call when he got there.

Needless to say, my phone rang almost immediately after he left.  Roads were flooded and closed all over the place.  He wanted to let me know it would be awhile until he arrived at his office.  Not five minutes later, he called again, more road closures.  An emergency vehicle towing a rubber raft passed him…. wisely, he took that as a sign to return home.

He tried to get home the way he had just traveled, but the roads had become flooded in that short time span.  The GPS was home, so I navigated him via who-knows-where to circumvent the flooded roads.  Two hours later, yes, two hours later, he pulled into the driveway.  He was not a happy camper.

I called my boss, who happens to be a very dear friend.  She told me to stay home, that she would try to make it into the store, which, although close, involves driving all the roads my husband had just traveled.  We live in the same neighborhood and I told her to be safe and let me know when she arrived.  I did offer to ride with her.  She told me that wasn’t necessary, but I still felt guilty.  She was, as always, thoughtful and called me about an hour and a half later.  She was home, too, as there was no possible way to reach the store from our neighborhood.

That call alleviated any guilt I had about not trying to go in.  Now, I have a free day!  My husband and daughter are here, my Mom is here, my son sent a text that he is okay.  All of this led me to a great, unexpected surprise for a Thursday, a second cup of coffee! 

I hope everyone is safe out there.  For those of us who do not have to fight Mother Nature on the streets today, it’s a lucky thing.  Nature is truly surprising and formidable.  It is sometimes breathtakingly beautiful, and other times it is downright life threatening.  I am thankful for all the emergency personnel working so hard today for all of us, keeping us as safe as possible and warning us of more trouble ahead.  For all of those out there who fight paying these hard-working government workers their fair compensation…I hope these last few weeks taught a huge lesson.  I hope it serves to prove that there is a definite, vital role they play.  I hope they are given the kudos they deserve.

Now, back to my coffee…