Water, Water, Everywhere

As I was leaving my house to go to a funeral in Cleveland, Ohio yesterday, the rain was falling. As my friend drove down I-75, the rain was falling. Wow, there sure is a lot of rain coming down, I thought.

My first clue that something was awry was when I received a text from Mary Beth that informed me that Zack and Nick's grandparents' basement had flooded. Uh-oh, I thought. There really is a lot of rain. The next text I got, let me know that Zack and Nick's aunt's basement was flooded. Not only was it flooded, but the water was spewing backward up through the toilet. Oh, and it was sewage water. Poop water, to be specific.

Eek, I thought. This sounds pretty nasty. Then came the pictures. That's a lot of water, I thought. Grandparents, aunt, who would be next?

Our ceiling's dripping! came the next text from my wife. Here it comes, I thought. If trouble comes in threes, was this the third? Fortunately, our damage was very minor compared to the first two houses. What a storm! On the way back from Cleveland, a trip that normally takes two hours and 45 minutes, took four hours. Streets became rivers. Freeways turned into canals. Walls of water swallowed up cars and trucks.

The rain was falling yesterday. A reminder, if nothing else, of the power of nature. We are not in control, as much as we'd like to think we are. A lot of rain adds up to a lot of water. Water is powerful. It affects us, every day. Sometimes in ways we can't anticipate.