Now I Know Why

Late last night they said we should evacuate but.....

At this point to be honest I am just too tired to care anymore.

I'm so emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually exhausted, I don't even have the energy to lay down and give up.

It's decided we will leave, the water is rising fast...

What to take....

Struggling around the house, seeing this and that... I love that... no, I can't take it....

But what about that....and this.... and that.... Oh my god.... why.....

So it boils down to 7 dogs, 2 bottles of medicine, 4 cans of soup, 1 box of crackers, 1 case of water,

1 pair of pants and 3 shirts, 1 pair of pajamas, 1 case of dog food, 6 bowls, 2 spoons, 1 pan and a dog water bowl...

58 years of life and that is what it winds up being about.....

So I walk in knee deep water.... Scared...unsure...devastated and vulnerable.

I load up in the truck and get ready to leave.

Leaving a home that for the first time in my life, is really mine.... you can feel my heart while sitting in the yard, you can hear my laughter while listening to the birds sing, you can see my soul in every thing in this home... will it be here when I get back... will anything be left?

3 hours later I call my next door neighbor from the safety of my new location...

So exhausted that I can barely talk...

Hello?

Hi, Maggie?

Yes?

This is Cookie, How are you doing?

I can hear the small catch in her throat and the tremble in her voice and then I hear her gather her resolve and tell me they are watching the water CLOSELY....

How deep is it?

She says it's to the top step at my house.

My heart drops....

I envision everything in my head...

I said Maggie, the code to my gate is.....

She says you need me to move your cars?

I said no....

Check and see if I left the doors unlocked or a window...

Okay????????

I said if not then break a window by the back door it will be easier for you...

She said okay what do you need?

I said I need you to promise me if you get scared or it's gets deeper, that you will break into my house.

You see the living quarters of my home is upstairs... only the garage is downstairs...

Her house is one level.

After a long pause, I hear okay...

So I let her go...

I call back to remind her, don't forget medicine, don't forget phone chargers and and and (That's the mom in me!)

About twenty minutes later, I call back and tell her Maggie, if the water starts getting deeper in the garage, be sure to open the doors to the garage and open the car doors...

WHY?

I said that way the water will flow easier and not beat the foundation of the house as bad.
If the car fills up inside then it may not float, because if it floats it will beat out the pillars or the floor of the house, putting you in more danger...

A soft whisper, oh.

We talk a little longer and I wonder when I hang up the phone, will I ever see them again...

I call back one more time and apologize for being a pain in the ass...

She laughs....

I said when I offered the house to you for you and your family. I meant the WHOLE family, your animals also.

She laughs hard, Girl I have five dogs... I said so, I have seven?

Three hours later I received a call, they were safe and sound in my home, mopping up the water they brought in with them. Wasn't that so sweet of them!

All of them are there, a little grandson, their children, and their dogs...

I can hang up the phone, feeling relieved, the fear for their safety a little easier...

I argued about leaving my home but in the blink of an eye I gave in... not sure why I did...

Now I know...

Because it wasn't supposed to be MY HOME last night it was supposed to be theirs....

So many blessings to see even during a catastrophic flood and visit from Hurricane Harvey...

Today I am grateful that she accepted, I would not have been able to live with myself if she had not.