Six Months After the Flood :: A Survivor’s Tale

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6 Months After the Flood - A Survivor's Tale - Columbia SC Moms Blog

Wrapped in a blanket in the pitch black night, listening with trepidation to the torrent of never-ending rain crashing on the tin roof, as the creek swells close by…

Looking out the back picture window and the fear striking like an icy punch to the gut at the first glimpse of the swift and deadly river in the place of the kids’ playground…

Forcing my mind to be logical as it doles out step-by-step instructions to jump-start leaden feet…

Gather my family and escape, now…

Praying it’s still shallow enough to evacuate through the front, and praising when it is…

Comforting scared crying young child as we wade from the front door to higher ground…

Standing on the neighbor’s porch, watching helplessly and the rivers continues rising higher and higher, no slowing down…

Unknown sinister metallic slams all night over the roar of the whitewater rapids…

Whole snapped trees sweeping by in the blink of an eye…

Holding our breaths as first responders bravely attempt to rescue the next-door neighbor. He tried to escape only minutes after us. They risk their lives as they cling to a nylon rope through the pushing water…

Throat closing when the flower box by where my kitty is crouched swept away in an instant. We didn’t have time to grab her…

Heartless cries of the vultures the next day as they feast on the unlucky under the bright blue sky. A pretty day, the sun warming us, a breeze gently caressing our skin. The bright chirps of song birds are absent…

Stench of decaying fish in the mud smeared over my children’s stuffed animals, hugged by innocent arms only hours earlier…

Hearing the news that the sewage plant was under water, contaminating the water, right after wading through it, brushing teeth in it, showering in it…

Irrational terror as they debate closing the hospital. I know, without a doubt, we will die here. I feel it in my bones. I remind myself to show only a calm face to my kids, to at least try and use logic and not irrationality overcome me, must keep a cool head to survive…

Fighting my panic to take deep breaths…

Filling the leaky tub and boiling water all night in fear that 11 of us would be trapped, roads closed, with potentially sick from deadly bacteria, no drinking water, power, or medical care…

Doubling over crying when you hear your whole neighborhoods of your children’s classmates were destroyed too and you don’t know if they are okay…

sc flood - Columbia SC Moms Blog

No sleeping, too hyped up…

Finally dozing after 36 straight hours of wakefulness only to jump up with a racing heart and thoughts of fleeing as microwave innocuously beeps in the background…

Closing your eyes for days and all you feel is swaying movement, right to left just like the water, etched into my eyelids and brain…

The contractor’s sad eyes as he recommended what was left of our home should be torn down and not rebuilt…

Where we had raised babies into preschoolers. Where we planned to raise them until adulthood and beyond…

Moving five times in six months…

Not knowing when we can put down roots again, or where…

Feeling as if we are slowly drowning in a droning bureaucracy of government in the aftermath…

Overwhelming mosquitoes and mold throughout the area, and ensuing public health concerns about diseases and health implications…

Heart aching as we wonder how many others across the world will suffer losses of the increased flooding and powerful storms as a direct result from climate change as our Earth is hurt…

The healing hugs of my sons…

The shaken smile of now-dry neighbor…

Finding our kitty safe and sound…

The warmth of love poured out from hundreds of phone calls and messages…

The irrepressible spirit of my sons as they adjust to living in a variety of places…

The blessings of still having our lives, food, and shelter (albeit elsewhere) even though we are classified as “environmental refugees.” My heart breaks for other refugees not as lucky…

The kindness and generous spirits of our loved ones: Friend, family, and neighbor alike. Balm for the soul…

Watching a community and city bloom from polite indifference to strength and sharing to those in need…

So very, very many acts of kindness…

The generous, warm, loyal, and compassion which surrounded us with staggers us with amazement at how infinitely beautiful and transforming the power of sisterly and brotherly love can be…

Faith and restoration…

The freedom of closed doors and new beginnings.

Let us remember this “anniversary” of destruction by a random act of kindness. Even a loving gesture which you may think is insignificant can be a lifeline to someone’s who is hurting. May you be blessed in all that you do.

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