Tuesday, May 04, 2010

The Hundred Year Flood, Part Two

Monday - no school.

Tuesday - no school.

They've called school for Wednesday as well. Fortunately they also said they were going to approach the State Department of Education and try to have these days forgiven. I hope so. Our kids have been through enough already.

The river is supposed to crest at 1:00 am Wednesday morning. Hopefully the weather will stay clear and dry - it's been amazingly beautiful and warm. Good weather to clean out the damp part of the garage, sort through everything, toss out stuff, apply more Drylock, and put things in plastic tubs. I'm beat. Going to school would be a relief.

Many of our staff are still stranded. The terrain here is rolling hills along with rivers and creeks that criss-cross the county. Just about every low point with a bridge is closed. Getting from one side of town to the other is a challenge so Hubby and I are staying put except for a quick trip to Lowes for more supplies. We have plenty of food and water, the power is on (never went off) and although the waste water plant is shut down, we have water.

We may make a visit to rescue our friend Mrs. Littlebird, who is stuck in between two flooded roads. Her youngest, who is a non-verbal autistic, does not understand why he can't go to Burger King and everyone at the Littlebird house is stir-crazy. They can walk through the floodwaters to get to a road where we can pick them up so we may do that just to give them some peace and a change of pace.

The camping trip, alas, may be a wash (pardon the pun). We'll have to see. Mrs. Bunny, Mrs. Eagle and I are going to talk about it tomorrow, and see what The Principal has to say. There's the issue of transportation, the issue that the river won't be cresting near our camping area until the weekend, they may be using the campsite dorms for emergency shelters, and if everything is flooded, what can we do with the kids anyway?

And then there's the snakes. One thing flood waters leave in their wake down here are unpleasant creatures like water moccasins. I am not taking kids camping in a snake-infested zone. Sorry, just not doing that.

We may have to reschedule, if possible. Or we may do something special for the kids if we ever get back to school. A cookout at a local park, or something. I honestly don't know at this point.

I just really want to get back to school and see how my kids are.

In the meantime, if you are moved to help, go here:

Middle Tennessee Red Cross

3 comments:

Sneaker Teacher said...

Keeping you in my thoughts!

Yellow rose said...

I went to a computer conference at Gaylord Opryland a few years back, and after sessions we walked up to the mall. I cannot imagine it all flooded. So much to clean up! And possibly more bodies to be found, with houses marked like after Katrina. I certainly hope the Dept of Education gives everyone affected a waiver. I don't see how much good would be accomplished by holding all of you over for additional days, in the wake of all of this damage. And after that, take a good long break, in a cool dry place, if possible!

Tom DeRosa said...

Hang in there! I wonder, how can you turn this disaster into something positive once you get back to school? Is it something worth pursuing, or do you think everyone will just want to forget about it and get back to the safe routine of school?