We came back from taking my Dad to the dentist to find that the barn was flooding again. (After I almost got the wheelchair van stuck in the mud.) So we got the brooms out and started to work. Three of us working diligently….
Finally, I stuck my head inside the apartment door and said to my mother…please call the youngest daughter out to help. She arrived and I gave her instructions to see if she could find some way to divert the flow of water. At the same time, I decided to open up the big roll up door and take a look at the other side of the bay. Seeing that the water was crossing the bay and attacking the walls of the apartment….I decided to start sweeping out on this side.
Why did we not think of this sooner??!! By attacking the problem from this angle, we were able to divert the water from crossing the bay and washing up against the apartment walls. So I swept and I swept and I swept, probably for about two hours.
The oldest daughter went into the apartment to deal with the problems the tide had caused. She took the shop vac to the carpets, moved furniture, etc. etc. She spent a good deal of time working in there. By the time she was done she felt pretty well worn out. She still does not have a lot of energy for physical labor.
In the meantime, the daughter with the task to stick her finger in the dike did just that. She found a way to direct the water out of the barn. So she and the middle sister began sweeping in the opposite direction as me.
I must tell you what a tremendous blessing it was to hear them singing in the back side of the barn. The back portion is the new section and it is all tin….These melodious voices singing A Mighty Fortress and a score of other great tunes. What a joy, to this mother’s heart, to have such faithful daughters that set to the task with cheerfulness.
BUT, I am not feeling overly confident that the water will stay abated because there is a glacier frozen up on the floor of the barn and it is not supposed to be overly cold tonight. I fear that by morning, they will have to go back to sweeping. Mom has grumped a great deal this winter about how I would not let them to go south….if we would have gone south she would have come back to find everything ruined in her apartment. I cannot tell you how many gallons of water we sweep out of the barn today but it was no small amount. Needless to say, there is some work that is going to have to be done in the barn this coming summer.
We are forecast more rain and snow tomorrow and tomorrow night….
On a different note, as I mentioned, we took my dad to the dentist. He had broken a tooth so he had the root removed. He goes back in two weeks to get his partial rebuilt to meet his new dental needs. On the way to the dentist, I dropped off the oldest daughter to visit and sit with Hubby’s dad at the hospital. Then on the way home, I dropped in for a few minutes to check on him.
He seems slightly improved over yesterday but still is obviously not ready to leave the hospital. The infection seemed to stop spreading. But the arm is still red and swollen. He was not overly coherent but I am sure that is due to his meds. Yesterday when Hubby and I stopped by after church he seemed quite alert and in really good spirits.
Oh yes, Hubby flew to Florida last night and is returning tomorrow morning. With his dad in the hospital he saw this as an opportunity to go down and take care of some business that was overlooked before he left. While it has been a whirlwind of a trip, I am sure in some ways it has been a breath of fresh air.