Yesterday, just as we were heading back home from doing laundry, we hit a huge thunderstorm that was pouring down some of the biggest raindrops I've ever encountered! I was soaked after trying to hustle the clean, folded laundry inside so it wouldn't all have to be hung to dry once again! Keira wanted to run through the rain!
After only one pass around the yard, she was soaked, too!
She wanted to stay & play in the rain, but didn't like her face getting wet, so I got her the umbrella. Probably not the smartest thing to do in a thunderstorm, but there was more rain than anything. It rained cats & dogs for about an hour! The two-lane road in front of our house was more like a one-lane road with two rivers running down either side! Keira & I went & stood in the raging river for a minute, trying not to be washed away with all the leaves & sand!
Trying to keep the plants dry!
Taking a break on the porch.
Finally, after about 20 minutes or so, Keira was cold & wanted to go inside.
What we found waiting for us inside was no fun at all! I went into the bedroom to get Keira some dry, warm pajamas, & there was a small waterfall coming down from the ceiling fan & light fixture, right onto the bed! So much for clean laundry & bedding! Not only that, but since the fan was on, it just sprayed the water all around the room, onto every wall, which just seemed to be weeping with dirty water. So while Bob worked on getting the fan/light uninstalled from the ceiling, & getting to the roof to deal with the clogged drains & rooftop pool, Keira & I took to drying wall portraits & paintings, books & papers, & electronic things. I actually had to use Keira's large toy bucket to catch all the falling water, since there was not a kettle large enough for the job! We ended up with 2-3" of water in it by the time we were done, as well as dirty sheets, blankets, & a wet feather bed. Luckily the water did not make it all the way to the mattress. Gotta count your blessings! The landlord assured us the roof will be repaired professionally by next weekend. Hope it doesn't rain again between now & then!:-)
Dear Shiloh:
ReplyDeleteWhat a story about the downpour. I can't image a waterfall coming down from the fan and light fixture. Thank goodness Bob was handy to help dismantle the fan etc. Thank goodness also, that Keira's toy bucket was handy to catch the water. Your road sounded horrible. I remember once getting caught in a Ca thunderstorm on the freeway. The rain was coming down so hard that the windshield wipers couldn't even keep the windows cleared so I had to pull over along with every other car. I hope the landlord keeps his word and really does have the roof fixed etc. Why is the bed always under the light and fan? Did you have to gather up all the wet bedding and put on clean linens and go to the laundromat again or sleep on the air mattress? You do have an air mattress don't you? I can't imagine dirty water sprayed all over the walls and wiping off pictures etc.
I remember that in Paradise it would rain so hard that the light fixtures would fill up and slop over the fixture onto all the furniture. When it rains in CA it really rains.
Keira had so much fun running through the rain. Have you ever seen the "Sarah, Plain and Tall" episodes? In one episode Sarah takes the children to Maine because they are having a drought in Kansas (or where ever they were) and the children hadn't seen rain for ages. It begins raining and Sarah and the children run outside and dance in the rain. It is so funny, they were getting all wet, but they didn't care. It was so refreshing to them.
I understand more about Keira's comment "Keira is a lucky girl"
Love Joy
Yup, that sounds just like the thunderstorm we just had! I guess that's SoCal for you! They had huge flash floods in Moreno Valley, cars were stranded in feet of rushing water! Yikees! Yes, the roof better be fixed or we will be in trouble again soon! Our bedroom is rather small & the fan/light is just in the center of the room, but no matter which wall we put our bed against, part of the bed would be underneath it, unless we put the bed in the corner against two walls, which I don't like. I only want the head of the bed against the wall. Yes, we had to gather up all the dirty linen, but it's not clean yet. We only manage to get to the laundromat about every other week when we can get a ride, so it will have to wait. I just dried out the feather bed with the fan as it wasn't too wet or dirty & put clean linen on the bed. No, we don't have an air mattress, or room for one even if we did. Keira is so sweet, even last night she was apologizing to Bob & I for the water leaking in & getting the painting wet. I told her it wasn't anybody's fault, but that I appreciated her sympathy, & Bob assured her the oil painting was not damaged by the water. No, I've never seen the Sarah episodes, but I've heard of them. Yes, when Keira wanted to run in the rain, I told her to have fun while it lasts!:-)
DeleteShiloh: I am amazed by little Keira's compassion. I thought about this for hours and finally came to the conclusion that because she had so much fun running in the rain and loved it so much, she somehow felt "guilty" and so thought she was responsible for the bed and walls getting all dirty. Poor little Keira. I liked your explanation to her, that nobody was to blame, but just LIFE. What a sweet little compassionate little girl. Love Joy
ReplyDeleteShe sure is! She was still apologizing for it, even yesterday! And I told her once again that there was no need to be sorry, that it wasn't her fault & everything is okay. I think it's just a bit traumatic when mama is saying, "Oh no!" & frantically trying to catch water & dry things while daddy is also working quickly to stem the tide! We adults have been through enough life to know it's all no big deal, but to a little girl who hasn't had such experience, it's all a big deal!:-)
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