We Made It

We made it through the storms. We survived, the sun is shining and life appears to be normal. I know that just a few short miles down the road there is flooding. There are families that are going through what we all went through two years ago. They are going through it again. For us, we were lucky. The water was not as high as it was two years ago, so has not come near us.

Though two years ago the house was not flooded, we were an island in the middle of flood waters. Had the water risen to the height that they predicted we would of been floating in a sea of brown, muddy, debris filled water. Lucky for us, it never reached its peak.

Though we did not lose anything in the floods of 2011, I can feel for those that did and for those that are losing right now. I know because I have lost my 'life' twice. Not through floods or storms, but other circumstances, where I have lost everything treasured and held dear. Where I have had to walk away and start again.

I could relate.

And I can remember...

The eerie silence, no traffic, no kids playing. The street lights, almost flooded to the bottom of the light unit...still flashing ...red to green.
The eerie silence of no birds..nothing...just quiet.

And at night, the darkness with the silence. No street lights, no sound. It made you feel like you were the only people left on earth.

The feelings are the same. The feeling of loss, the feeling that our street, our community, the people in it, would forever be changed on how they viewed life.
I remember the devastation right outside our front door. The mud metres deep, the smell, the piles of possessions on the side of the road.

Photo albums, crockery, clothing, toys, teddy bears and furniture.

The tears of neighbours of they carried treasured possessions to the side walk to dump on a forever growing pile.
I remember holding a lady while she cried as she watched her children bring out item after ruined item of her life. Things that she had worked for, saved for, been given.

And my heart broke for them.

I got just as angry when the rubber-neckers came with their cameras. Taking photo after photo of peoples lives in piles on the side of the road. Taking photos of their ruined houses. Of them in tears.
Oh yes, I got just as angry, and yelled with the rest of the neighbours at those who thought it was great to take photos of the personal devastation.

I was there when the neighbours joined forces and made a human barrier across the road to stop those people from coming through. I watched as they stopped one car and took the camera off a boy hanging out the window taking snapshots while the father drove. I heard them telling the father that it was wrong, to go away and teach his boy about compassion and privacy.

And I agreed.

I listened to trucks and cleaning equipment day after weary day going up and down the road. Taking away piles and piles of family history.

I ended up going away for a few days. I just could not take the tears, the rubber-neckers, the smell and the noise of those trucks anymore. I went away and cried and cried not just for their loss, but for once, my own loss as well.

I have watched as those same families have moved away. The devastation and memories too much for them.
Some families and business's have only just got themselves together...two years later. Only to be faced once again with brown muddy water flowing into their lives.

For some, just a few short miles from us, it will be too much. Most will bounce back. They will pick themselves up, dry themselves off and start again.  That is human nature. Some will move away. Some cannot move - their houses are unsellable. No one wants to buy a house that has been flooded twice. No one wants to live in an area that is considered to be a flood zone. In some ways they have lost even more than just possessions. They have lost the money invested in a home of memories. They are now trapped into staying where they are.

The battle with insurance companies will start again. Some will be lucky, others will not be.

I started this post as I was going to compare weathering storms with weathering life within ttwd/dd. It has not ended up this way. For this I am sorry if that is what you were looking for. I will blog on that...perhaps later on today.

My fingers have had their own thoughts on where they should be placed on the keyboard and to what letters they should be pushing.
I think I needed to get this out. Get it out of my system.

Thank you for taking the time to read it.

Hugs xx oo xx