Tuesday check in - its not raining

Well, it seems as though Harvey has finally left our area.  He definitely over-stayed his welcome.

We fared better than most, but our rural area in general did well.  We know what areas will flood and what roads are blocked.  There were no surprises.

Dams and levies are the problem now.  2 levies broke - causing a major amount of flooding in areas that actually were spared Harvey's wrath.  2 levies are releasing into the bayou at the highest extinct, but the water influx from higher rivers is too high and the water is backing up into their flood areas that were developed.  Now, these levies have not EVER reached these levels, so their was no precedence to know that this level of flooding would ever happen.  This storm brought in the most water ever in the continental US.  EVER!

One dam is being released and putting pressure on little rivers and creeks, but again, there was no choice.  If they held the water, the dam could break.  That would cause more damage than anyone could imagine.  They are doing the best they can though!


Both my sons are in neighborhoods that are flooded.  One has no water or electricity.  The other does.  The rain has finally stopped, so DS2 and I think he will be able to get out of the neighborhood tomorrow and come to us.  DS1, I have no idea yet.  He is older and wants to be on his own, so ....I wait.

Our area was the least impacted - we got a lot of rain, but because our area is rural, there are many, many more places for it to go rather than in homes.  Suburban and urban areas have so much concrete and developers that do not care about the natural drainage of water.

Even our water will eventually be that way in the neighborhood we are building in - it is inevitable.  But, we hope people stay away as long as possible!

So, we are hanging in there.

Today, we decided what we are going to do to help the efforts going on.

We are background people.  What we contribute usually is not in the forefront of people's mind, but usually appreciated in a way that is unexpected.  For example, for funerals, we give toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates, plastic silverware, etc.  It is always met with the same response, "OK, um, thank you."  Then, the thank you notes are full of thanks, we had no idea we need this, etc.  These are things noone thinks to bring, but everyone brings food.  Noone wants to wash dishes and the influx of people usually causes the restroom to be over used.

We decided with this to do exactly that same thing.  We would buy personal care items from CVS deals and basic food items - rice, pasta, can goods - to continue to give for at least one year.  We set a line item in the budget and started today.  We went to CVS and bought toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shaving cream, shavers, shampoo, paper towels, toilet paper, mouthwash, etc.  We will build up as deals come up.  Everytime we grocery shop, we will buy a little more.

A local food bank that we have given to for years that is located in a hard hit area is who we will donate to, but I just recently learned that families in my homeschool group have completely lost their homes, so we prefer to give to them first.

Quiet, no flash.  It isn't fancy, it isn't something people write home about, but we will be giving long after the TV cameras are gone, long after people have gotten back to their lives.

So there you have it.  Hope you all had a great day.  I saw the sun - my day was unimaginably great!