One inch.
It is amazing
how much damage one inch can make when it is water in the wrong place.
At first, it
shocks you.
How did it get
there and how much damage can it do?
Then when you
realize the damage, you immediately feel lucky that it was only one inch.
From Labor Day
weekend 2019 to Thanksgiving weekend 2019, I experienced three separate
occasions when water damaged one of my homes. Each time, the reaction was the
same. The difference was the intensity.
Surprise.
Shock. Unrest. Exhaustion.
The first and
last were plumbing issues – a leaky pipe that was stopped with a valve, and the
only damage was to flooring and sheetrock, which are easily fixed.
It was the
second that took me by surprise. It had not rained since my move to Austin in
August. It came a downpour on a Thursday evening late in October as I sat in a
salon chair for the first time since my move. The rain was badly needed. As was
my haircut. As the heavy downpour started to lift, I started home.
After I moved
in, I saw water marks on the garage walls one evening when the night light hit
the walls just right. So, I had already placed all of the garage boxes up on
shelves just in case the garage flooded.
When I arrived
home after the haircut, I was not surprised to see flood water already entering the garage. Then,
as I entered the duplex I found water. An inch had come in so far from the front
wall. I placed blankets, lots of blankets, on it to keep it from spreading. The front bedroom was
full of boxes in stacks of up to 4 or 5 or 6 high that I had just moved in the
weekend before.
A panic set in. I had no idea what was in the boxes on the bottom of those stacks. Photos? Irreplaceable valueables? Oh please no - not the violins.
I quickly moved
the boxes to higher ground before the wet on the bottom collapsed the stacks. As
the rain slowed, I worked quickly to relocate upstairs as much as possible to
reduce damage. After working as hard as I could for a few hours, I sat down to
rest. Then it hit.
I was shocked. In
disbelief. Unsettled. Overwhelmed.
Even though I
had lived in Houston all of my life and had seen many neighbors’ and friends’
homes flood, I immediately realized that I previously had no proper empathy for
how they felt. I myself had never had a home flood before. It is a realization
of complete lack of control and an acceptance of mother nature’s rules of order
that have just taken over your life.
I only lost a
few personal items, most of the damage can be easily replaced. Most, but not my
grandfather’s hand-whittled 100-year old violin. That…cannot be replaced. But overall,
I am lucky.
I have since discovered
that previous flooding does not have to be disclosed for rental property in the
state of Texas.
Luckily, I was
released from the contract and found a new rental on the south side of town. I
am settled and in a good place.
I am now living
the saying that life is what happens despite your best plans. Life can only be appreciated.
Not planned. Expect the unexpected. Learn to respect Mother Nature. And take
nothing for granted.
I also now have renewed
empathy for those who flood.
Anyone living
in rental property deserves to know if the place they just moved all of their possessions
into previously flooded. This sounds to me like a change in policy needs to be
addressed.
One inch has changed my whole outlook on life.
To be continued...
To be continued...
