Some of you are aware of the flood/swamp in our basement and kitchen. For those of you who haven't heard, let's just say it has been an interesting Christmas season.
My husband discovered water in our basement. We guessed it was caused by a leaky window or crack in the wall. Upon investigation, the service agency found our dishwasher was leaking. A crack in a seal had caused not only a swamp under our cabinets, but a flood in the basement. "Floodier and floodier" came to mind as we hit the waves with ginormous fans for a week to dry everything. I have to admit I did sit down and cry when my cabinets had to be ripped out.
Things worsened every day and I was not in the Christmas spirit. Mr. Phlegmatic, aka my husband, became Grumpy the dwarf. The kids were hit with test after test and projects galore. Our oldest child took the ACT for the first time. Just when I thought the acid level couldn't rise any higher in my stomach, we learned the insurance didn't cover damage caused by household appliances.
To say we were all in poopy moods doesn't really cover it. Then, I remembered something my dad once told me.
"Look around. There's always someone worse off than you."
He was right. Did you hear that, Dad? Sit down before you fall down. I really did just admit that.
A few days before the Great Flood hit, my brother-in-law's shed with all his snow removal and lawn care equipment burned. No one was hurt, but his equipment has depreciated according to his insurance.
One of the men from the company helping us out told my husband his next stop was to a home with raw sewage in their basement.
I could go on. I won't. I remembered what was really important. We have our health. We have each other. My husband has a job. We have our home, albeit soggy.
And the Christmas spirit rained down.
Then came our silver lining. A mistake had been made concerning the removal of our cabinets. The insurance company would cover the cost to redo the kitchen.
God's water came. We boarded our ark. And when we emerged, we had our rainbow.
