We had planned to drive all 16 hours home in one day. Big, we knew, but we hoped we could handle it. Mid-morning -about 5 hours into our trip, 11 more to go- our neighbors who had been taking care of chores while we were gone, called with bad news. This is what they were dealing with:
After a downpour resulting in five inches in four hours, we had a septic back-up which filled the basement with 2-3 inches of smelly, dirty, standing water. Lovely, huh?
Once again our good neighbors bailed us out and spent the whole day at our house cleaning up that horrendous mess. They were planning on a weekend trip but after quickly deciding to check our house, canceled their plans. Matt and Kim also spent the day here along with others who dropped in here and there. Someone told me this week that something similar had happened to her one time - standing sewer water- and she told me that we need to really love our neighbors for what they did for us. Thanks is way too much of an understatement. But what else can we say? Thanks so much to anyone who helped even in the tiniest way.
We tried to hurry up as fast as we could, but soon found out that speeding up while driving didn't help anything... (thankful for just a warning!). We finally made it home at 8:30 or so - loooong day, especially for Dad who drove the whole way. We are thankful for safe travels and all things considered things went pretty well. To bad we couldn't have just turned around and fled back to the mountains though! We are so grateful it happened on the day coming home, and not just going there.
The house smelled a little when we walked in but there was no more standing water. We unloaded the van and otherwise didn't do anything in the basement that night. Sunday afternoon we had a several people here helping out as we ripped up all of the carpet and the kitchen hardwood. Thankfully the boy's bedroom floor and dad's bathroom floor was still okay. It was a bummer to have to tear everything out but it was definitely the right decision as it made things immediately dryer and it smelled better, too. Thanks again to the crew who helped us!
We didn't realize how much stuff we kept downstairs until there was no place to go with any of it. It looks like we just moved in - and the problem is, we can't start putting stuff away yet!
The word for the week is flexabilty - especially for the boys. There bedroom is in no way usable so we've been making room upstairs every night...
It so unfortunate that it happened, but like someone told us today... this too shall pass. But when? We had a plumbing service here all day Monday working on fixing the problem, carpet company out to measure and insurance guy out on Tuesday, Wednesday Mom and Dad ordered carpet and trim got torn out, and today Dad picked up new trim, stain and paint. Normally, we don't schedule remodeling projects for our busiest time of the year! Lots of craziness and late nights ahead... but thankful for some insurance coverage. Also, thanks again to everyone who has helped. Even if you felt like you weren't doing much, it was appreciated!
Well, admist fans blowing, dehumidifiers and air purifiers running, we might be able to get back to the rest of the Colorado story sometime soon....
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