Thunder rolls again.
We have had rain galore here in the mid west United States. I don’t mind except that my little town has an issue with sewer system back up. It’s residents have been burned many times.
Water Woes
Many town folks have had water in their basements multiple times over the years. When we have a lot of rain, the water backs up in the underground sewer pipes, through our basement floor drains and into our basements.
The first year this happens to us, we have 10 inches of water through our entire basement, some of it finished with carpet, drywall, wood trim, the works. That year the basement floods several nights in a row. The sewer pipes just can’t disperse the water fast enough. Half of the town suffers. Those who have newer homes or sump pumps might have escaped the water woes. Many of us, however, lose material items and faith in the city administration due to flooding.
We watch closely the next summer to see if the water would invade again. We don’t know if the summer before was just a fluke or if this would prove a continual problem. Sure enough, water makes it’s way into our basement once again, although not nearly as much as the year before.
We make the decision to install a back flow valve in the pipe outside our house. It lets used water out of our house but keeps excess water from backing up through our basement drain. A year after the valve was installed, the city hires a company to install a liner in the sewer pipes outside some of the affected homes. Our house is chosen as one that could benefit from this, and the man installing the liner tells me we should never have water in our basement again. So far his word has held up as true.
Too Much
Anyway, I tell that story in relation to how the last few months have played out at our house. The rain falls often, washing over nightly events requiring the attention and the attendance of my husband and I. Oh the list of activities is long- track meets, golf meets, end of year celebrations, last band concert, last choir concert, soft ball practices, parent meetings for beginning sports, meetings for the end of sports, college decisions, a child’s birthday, mother’s day, graduation open houses, and of course the actual graduations of both my highschooler and my 8th grader.
All of these things are great opportunities worthy of thanksgiving, but too much of anything makes for rough times. Like the over abundance of rain that wreaks havoc on our town’s basements, the over abundance of activities robs us of the joy of the season. We miss the chance to celebrate our kids reaching their milestones, the fact that they are progressing as planned. Instead, I am running around like a crazy woman, driving straight from work to that night’s activity, sometimes putting 75 miles on my car in one day. And weekends bring no relief. The weekends bring the birthday, mother’s day and graduation gatherings that can’t be fit in during the week.
We Will Endure Seasons of Thunder
And yet, I experience the same feeling after weeks of cleaning out a wet basement as I do when tears come from running like a chicken with my head cut off- I realize things could be so much worse. I am able to clean out a basement that still provides a strong foundation. I am able to attend the events of my healthy and happy children. And because I am able to endure stressful seasons, I am thankful.
I will be even more thankful when this crazy season ends, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. A sense of gratitude already invades my being.
As I said in my last post, hang in there parents. The thunder might roll but it also rolls on by eventually. If I have learned anything in my 18 years of parenting, it is that some days are long but the years are short. I don’t have to love every day, but I always love my family. And I will endure the rough seasons for them and the greater good.
More posts like this one:
