The New Assisted Living #2: The Flood

5:45 am- One morning a week ago, and only four days after moving into our home, David awakened to a dripping sound.  He first thought it was an app on the i-phone that was making the noise. To his surprise and shock, he stepped out of bed into 2 inches or so of warm water. He took a few steps and realized water was everywhere.

The New Assisted Living #2- The Flood

The ENTIRE first floor of the house was filled with water. Susan looked up to see steaming windows.  We laughed when David looked for his flip-flops and saw them floating by. A hose fitting had failed on the newly installed, used only once dishwasher. To top it off, we had just the night before finished setting everything up, ‘nesters’ that we are; the rugs were in place, art was hung and the furnishings just right.

We jumped to immediate action knowing the only way to get this much water out of the house was to call in a team of support. We had intentionally fostered relationships based on gratitude for all those who had helped us manifest our home. And now we needed assistance. It came pouring in.

5:50 am- While David ran to shut off the water to the house, Susan called our friend and plumber Daniel who was just having a shower. 15 minutes later, Daniel was at our house with his assistant and immediately began bailing out the water with us.

There was no time for dismay or really even to hang out in the shock. We had to get rid of a lot of water and fast. We called one of the partners of the construction company, who immediately dispatched several members of his crew to our house to help.

7 am- The house was emptied of water in an hour and good humor prevailed.

Assistance kept on coming without us asking.

8:30 am- The cleaning person showed up a half hour early because she had heard we needed help.

Yes, the rugs were soaked and the legs of the furniture needed to be dried. Two young helpers manned hairdryers to aid the process. We laughed because we had just said we needed to have the rugs cleaned.

12 pm- Another friend Sandra brought us soup to eat.

1:30 pm- The rugs were picked up and delivered to the carpet cleaning company.

 2 pm- The frame shop Lavinia’s loaned us two large fans that two members of the construction crew delivered to us.

5 pm- Even the monsoon rains held off until everything was brought back in the house.

9:30 pm- Sound asleep, exhausted, and dry.

All in all, considering how much water was in the house, we were blessed not to have much damage. Moreover, we were blessed to have community.  There is a foundational openheartedness that permeates where we live, a natural flow of assistance which made something that might have been daunting, turn into something that bonds us in community further.

We’re now looking at the flood as a baptism, a cleansing of our house. And yes it is really, really clean.

If you are open to it, there may be surprising people around you to be in assisted living with.

It’s time for us all, in our evolving maturity, to change how we think about our natural need for assistance from one of weakness to a remarkable opportunity for love and new community.  

Interdependence makes life easier. The era of the rugged individual, the era of aloneness can end if we want it to.