Legacy withstands flood.

We always head north and to the lake shore for the 4th of July holiday. My mother started this tradition when my kids were babies and it continues as her legacy today. We all gather every year and enjoy slow cooked ribs and fireworks over the water.

Sometimes it feel like my life is a sitcom.... Last week we went to my dad's cottage to get away from it all (the stress of job interviews, kidney stones and child predators to name a few of the recent stresses of life). So we drive 4.5 hours and arrive to beautiful weather. The sun is shining, the birds as singing, a gentle breeze is making the leaves on the trees rustle making the sweet music of leisure time to come. (Yes, I was thinking of sunsets too!).

I had driven up a day early to open up and dust the place so that when my dad and siblings arrived the next day they could launch right in to a relaxing 4th of July weekend. I call my dad to let him know we have arrived safely and that all is well. I am on the phone with him as I open the front door of the house.... and see the rain.... INSIDE THE HOUSE. "Uh, dad... I gotta go, it is raining in the house!"
The place was an utter sauna. The temperature was high and the humidity was complete. Water is pouring though the ceiling, down the wall, to (and through) the floor. Not only is it water, but it is HOT water. Apparently the toilet one the 2nd floor has 2 issues; first there is a leak, second the cold water is blocked off and the leak is hot water only. The kids and I leap into action and use every towel in the house to soak up the water on the first and 2nd floor -- I decide to leave the 2+ inches of water in the basement alone -- that problem was bigger than me.
I got the water shut off and the rain slowed. I put pots and pans out to catch the rain in the kitchen and front hall... My dad called the insurance agent and the ball got rolling. It was crazy though -- because the water was HOT every window in the entire house was dripping water. Every sill had to be wiped. Every window opened. After going through and opening all the windows I realized I had to go back and open all the soaked blinds so that they could dry. The window latches had actually rusted due to the humidity that was in the house.... This window was nowhere near the water damaged area (it is actually the window that was furthest from the flooding!). See that stuff on the white paint? It is the rust leaking off the latch of the window.
I had to wiped down every window and sill. Counters, cabinets, drawers all were soaked. The ceiling sagged and the paint on the wall bubbled with the water that flowed beneath. I've never seen anything like it.

Even little things like bathroom cabinets are damaged from sitting in water for who knows how long.
The work is one thing, but the hurt is another. It hurt to see my parents legacy in danger. It hurt to see all of my mother's loving care soaked in water. She made this wonderful home away from home a haven for us in the storm of life. This was the shining place we went to escape from it all. It is hard seeing things damaged in this perfect home. Let's face it, this "cottage getaway" is MUCH nicer than my own home! Luckily only one picture had water damage -- but it is a very sentimental one that was drawn of my mother. The dry out specialists took it for me and I do think it will be okay. I kept cracking jokes with the dry out specialists; "At least I don't live here!" They were a pleasure to work with and truly treated the home with care.

Now my dad will be dealing with insurance adjusters. Luckily the contractor (who gutted this home to the studs and rebuilt it with my mom) is still around and views the home as his baby. I trust him to bring her back to her glory. We will get it back together. There are many more summers that will see us appreciating the beauty of my mother's legacy and the lake shore.
We still celebrated the 4th there (my siblings and our families). We shared fireworks with hundreds of others on the beautiful shore. We enjoyed each other and relaxed despite the roar of the fans (drying carpet and walls) and the hum of dehumidifiers.
We went to the beach and enjoyed the magic of the waves and sun.

My dad handled the loud fans well and kept calm despite his broken heart. His heart was less broken when the contractor reassured him the home would be 100% restored. Dad even handled it well when his car overheated and my Hubby had to go pick him up from his excursion to the store.

The thing that helped me and my family maintain our humor was remembering that this is just a house and stuff, what really matters is people. The family was together and I was able to cook big wonderful meals using my mom's recipes. New happy baby feet danced on the waters edge while hanging on to her mother's hands. What is better than learning to walk? Learning to walk on water!
The weekend started crazy, but ended up as another beautiful gift from my mother. What a wise woman to have started this tradition. No matter how the family grows we will always make room for more when we go and spend time together on the 4th of July.

I hope you have a tradition that pulls your family together -- gathering on the 4th is great for us since this is a holiday that inlaws do not seem to fight over.... I'm glad. It was nice to have everyone together this year. We felt my Mom was with us too... telling us to lighten up and enjoy the sunset.

We enjoyed it... and still missed her too.