"Get your butt down here and bring a bucket!"

Just last weekend Dad was giving me a hard time about the humidity in town (we were shingling another part of my house) and how it was cooler along the river by my parents' home. I responded with saying that at least I didn't have to worry about flash floods. He then said that it hadn't flooded at their place since 1993. Of course, you know what happened in the Midwest not only last night but for the past several weeks....rain, rain and even more rain. Guess what? The Des Moines River went over its banks at my parents' house...last night. The water has reached the base of their home's foundation, which my mother saw this morning as she sleepily glanced outside after turning off her alarm clock. You can imagine how badly she was startled at seeing a much bigger stretch of water than she was used to. She was telling me about their plans to pack this morning when I heard something being said in the background. Did I hear what Dad said? No. He said you're to get your butt down here and bring a bucket. My thoughts were...what good is a bucket for a river? lol

I checked back in with my mother later and learned that members of the local firestation had come by to report that the river is expected to rise as high as it did in 1993. My parents immediately started evacuating their possessions that can't be replaced. If the river rises to the 1993 level, then my parents' main living space will be safe. If it goes higher, then there is no guarantee. I was assured numerous times that they had already taken care of everything and didn't need my assistance. So, I called my brother's girlfriend who owns a business along the river in another town. She was freaking out.

In 1993 the water reached her business' location, but I vividly recall there being sandbags around that location that might have helped keep that water to a minimum. What I can't recall is how high the water got along those sandbags. What I didn't expect her to say is that the community has not made plans to bring in sandbags despite having been told what to expect. Um..what? If you know what's coming, don't you think you should PREPARE??

So, here I sit, anxiously awaiting news...nervous for my parents and their new house....nervous for my brother's girlfriend and the fate of her business...and nervous about the flooded roadways that I might encounter on my drive to Des Moines on Sunday morning to pick up my sister from the airport.