Rainy days--Sept 10-13

Last week was a huge amount of chaos for much of Colorado. Many people lost their homes in the worst flooding that the state has ever experienced. In 1976, there was a Big Thompson flood that killed over a 100 people. This year, the flooding was much worse, but the devastation was--Thank GOD--much less, because they had time to warn people. What caused the flooding? A freak amount of rain. In Boulder, they got more rain in 3 days than they usually get in a year. The road that we frequently take up to Estes Park (Hwy 34) is obliterated--about 17 miles of road will need to be replaced, as the road washed out to the bedrock in places.

And yet, even though we are in close proximity to the flooding, we might as well be a million miles from it. We were safe and dry throughout the entire experience. Soup was made, long stretches of relaxing with movies and books, and a lot of following the news. School was cancelled due to road closures, and the girls played indoors a lot. At a certain point, we had to try to get out and expend some energy. Thank goodness we had some rain gear--the leopard print boots were a Christmas gift from Grandma Marlene a few years ago (for Scout, now Ruby is wearing them), but other than that, everything is a thrift store find (either Grandma Karen's or my own).

The other day, something leaked on my countertop. In my disorganized home, this means that several papers and weird things were soaked. It was a mess to clean up, and I was grateful that nothing "important" was ruined. Then the thought passed through me, "What if this was my entire home?" That's what some people are dealing with: what didn't get washed downstream is covered in dirt, debris and soaked through and through. Suddenly, my little inconvenience seemed nothing if not trivial. My warm home is so comfortable, and my husband & children are safe and accounted for. I am grateful.

A photo from Twitter of Hwy 34

Getting ready for school on the 10th

Ready for the walk to school

 The kids were very excited about the weather and the chance to get their gear on. They were ready to walk to school at 8:30, about 15 minutes earlier than usual. I figured, "Let's just leave, give the kids a bit more them to splash in the puddles." Of course, by the time we got a block away from home, Scout said she had forgotten shoes to change into, and so I ran back to get some. As is usually the case, the times you think you'll be early are usually followed promptly by some reason to make you late.

Dad was gone to Denver last Tuesday--hence the empty garage

After we dropped Sissy off at school, we returned without umbrellas--the rain had stopped for a bit

The bounty from the garden

Turned into tomato soup

 On Sunday the 15th, we had to get out of the house. We took a walk through the neighborhood. It was nice to get some fresh air--we even ran into a fellow-walker along the way.

Playing in a puddle at the Shepardson playground

Dad was out taking a walk, too--and he met us at the school

So, we survived the flood of 2013. We actually had a really great time together. No loss of power, no flooded basement, no major inconvenience--we were very lucky.