Yesterday's Visit from Son & Wife....

[FriedaKateM]

My eldest son, & his wife were planning to visit me for mainly all day yesterday, stay overnight at motel closeby, & return this morning to visit some more. He lives near Washington DC, & I do not get to see him very often. They are the same people who aided me to go to the Outer Banks for my niece's wedding in May. At any rate, due to detours, etc., they didn't get here till about 12 noon. They brought me a bouquet of flowers, and a little box "thingy" in order to backup my computer files. They also brought sandwiches, & we ate lunch together. My son installed the backup onto my computer, & we looked at a lot of pictures from their recent trip to Yellowstone.

Long story short, because of Hurricane Irene bearing down on the east coast of the US, they were here 4 hours in total, & changed plans, & were going on to visit my daughter & family near Cincinnati, then, I think, they were going on to their home, about 10 hours away. They were worried that there could be flooding, wind damage, etc., & they also have 2 cats living with them in the house.

I am slightly concerned about their safety, & this takes me back in my mind to 9/11. He was working that day in the White House, she was working at the Dept. of Agriculture, near to the Pentagon. I was working here in my county, for elderly clients, bathing them, doing housework things. I reached one of my favorite ladies (now deceased), & her TV was on. We sat together & watched all the devastation, horror struck, etc. Both of us with tears streaming down our faces. I had then to continue working at that job, going on to other clients, all day, although I was beset with extreme worry, & finally reached home to find a message from my daughter-in-law on my ans. machine, saying that my son & she were both all right. (I've always appreciated her consideration in that respect!) So, I guess that this hurricane episode is throwing me back into the same feeling, of dread & foreboding.

This is what does happen when one loves one's kids & family, that there's always some nagging concern about them, wherever they are in the world. I felt this would fit into the "relationships" category. Joan

[Lizzie]

Re: Yesterday's Visit from Son & Wife....

Having reared three spirited sons, I always assured myself 'NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS". Hang in there! Now, I'd better go and store the outside furniture before she arrives. See you all next week!

[FriedaKateM]

Re: Yesterday's Visit from Son & Wife....

Today is now Sunday, & last evening, I called on my cell phone to my son near to D.C., and they were doing okay. They had so far not had any trees down, but were having very heavy rains. I also called to my brother who lives near to Richmond, Virginia. He & his wife were very glad to hear from me, & they also were doing fine, except for watching out for trees coming down, & the very heavy rains. So...my little "worries" have been more or less ironed-out. Appreciate my friends/cohorts on here, as you all are the best! Thanks, Joan

[Lizzie]

Re: Yesterday's Visit from Son & Wife....

Well, Joan, I've had quite a day. Irene came through - didn't seem much until the rain stopped and the backlash of the anti-clock swirl of the storm hit with very high winds. With the felled branches and trees there was the expected electric black-out - lasted with us for 30 hours. Well, you can check your list - got milk, got tea, got candles, the cats are attended, etc. - but there is always something and to be sure quite critical. Dummy didn't check her back-up battery for her sump pump. DARN big time!!! Found two feet of water in my basement this morning. As I got to the entrance 'stuff' drifted toward me from various storage shelves. To relieve my ire I took great delight in giving them a boot back in the direction of their assigned locations. Time passed with the electricity not restored and alternatives hatched in my mind to rid the deluge - calling friends in the hope of finding a generator not in service. Nada!!! Finally the lights came on. I decided to find a backup pump in the basement to exit the deluge in double quick time with two working. I donned a pair of shorts, took a deep breath, and plunged ahead. Gawd was it cold - well above my knees - and I declared to the world in not very lady-like terms I was too fricken old for this kind of crap!!!
My youngest son, quite the survival pragmatist, has decided mother must be prepared to survive the eventual natural or terrorist calamity and has supplied me with large tubs of survival food. Pickles, potatoes, dried eggs floated past me among a motley collection of flotsam. The lid of one tub of dog food had opened and pellets bobbed merrily across the water, bloated and soggy.
Now, there is a lovely gurgling sound outside as the pumps tend to business. And, I care little about the awful clean-up tomorrow as I swill another sip. Another bump to climb and life will still be good!

[FriedaKateM]

Re: Yesterday's Visit from Son & Wife....

Gosh, Lizzie....What a mess!! I got an email picture, of my son standing atop a large, downed, tree in the woods behind their house. He also said they had to work on the sump pump part of the night. Their basement is all "duded up", as they say, with wall to wall to carpet, loungey type furniture, big TV, etc. I guess they kept the water away/down okay. Their electric was out as well, but can't remember exactly how long, but they got it back fairly fast.

Several years ago, while I was having my upstairs remodeled, (& I was also painting everything), I & a friend were sleeping in my very expensive tent outside at night. As I couldn't sleep in the mess upstairs. At any rate the friend left one day, when we were expecting high winds from Hurricane Ike. I couldn't believe the winds we had, which took down gigantic limbs back in my woods, plus totally destroyed my new tent!! I was outside running around, trying to hold tent down, & hearing things cracking, & getting madder by the minute. (because friend left...) Anyway, the woods has never been the same, I tried to sew up the tent, but couldn't. My electric was off at least 3-4 days, & couldn't get water in here. Cooked outside on the front porch, on my kero heater/stove. Had to drive down to town, to a gas station to get water. OH, the only neato thing about sleeping outside at that time, was at night, hearing the coyotes way back in the forests, yowling. Rather creepy.

I recovered from most of that stuff, although the one huge branch from the oak, giant of the woods, is still down, lying across other trees, which likely are dead now. I had another two trees, a pine, & I think, a huge maple, come down in May/June/July when we had extremely high winds. Sometime before that stage collapse at the IN state fair. Got most of the pine hauled, still have heap of limbs, etc. So...I've been there, & will be thinking of you. Keep on keeping on. As they said in the London Blitz, Keep calm & carry on!! Joan :shamrock: