Wet and Wild Week

It was quite the busy week. I had things planned for almost every night, work and then there was the flooding.
I'll start from the beginning.
Jack had a business trip to Nashville. He left on Monday morning and was supposed to return on Wednesday evening. It was another rough travel time as his flight on Wednesday was cancelled due to the massive rain and thunderstorms that were happening here. He ended up getting a flight to Dallas on Thursday morning (he knew he had a better chance of making it home from there since Dallas is a hub for American Airlines) and he did make it home by dinner on Thursday.
Meanwhile, at home, Sally and I worked on some more wedding details Monday night. On Tuesday, I had a spur of the moment dinner with Christy, Teri and Carol to celebrate Christy's birthday. We went to a restaurant in Forest Park called Duck Fat and it was a great evening. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. I loved catching up with the girls. It was definitely out of the rut for me to go out on a Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, the storms started around 2:30 in the afternoon. Heavy rainfall and lots of thunder and lightning, but that did not keep me from going to Bunko, where I had more than my share of Costco English Toffee. (I am kind of obsessed with it. It's easy on the teeth, texture wise. So yummy.) I was home by 10. All was good and the basement was still bone dry despite all the rain.
It stormed all night, however, and by morning, we had some minor flooding in the basement. I took care of it with the wet vac and left for work. I only had 1/2 of my students in attendance. Many districts were closed and some parents just did not want to deal with the flooding; I totally understood. The rain continued off and on throughout the day. I left work around 4pm so that I could get ready to have dinner with a group of about 20 sorority sisters, many of whom I had not seen for 25 years or more. But when I got home, there was much more water where it should not have been...in the middle of the basement. (Luckily the tv area and laundry room were dry.) I did a bunch more wet vaccuming. It's pretty hard physical labor. Our wet vac only holds about 2 gallons of water, so you have to empty it often Oh my gosh. So hard on the back! At one point, I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror and I was horrified. My hair was crazy frizzy from the weather and the sweaty work. It became clear that I would have to cancel my dinner outing. I could not meet up with women I had not seen in 25 years looking like I did! 
Jack was home from his trip by 6:30 and we took turns manning the wet vac.
By Friday morning, the weather had settled down and Jean and I were able to walk. As we walked into Starbucks to get our Friday coffee (we treat ourselves on Friday), I looked at my phone. I had two incoming texts and both said the same thing...the school district where my Friday classes are housed was closed due to flooding in that town. It was the most lovely surprise!! A total shock. This district had not been closed the day before, so I had no reason to think it might be closed on Friday. But it was!! I was practically giddy! Not only did I not have to go into work, it meant that my lesson plans for next Friday were already done:)! Plus, it gave me unexpected time to work on the basement. I got so much done. Such a gift of time!
On Friday evening, Jack and I were the guests of our friends, Brad and Deanna, at a benefit for Family Shelter Services. And Teri was the MC! Fun times for a great cause.
Saturday was a memorial service for Chuck's mom. We woke up to sunshine, which was a welcome change of pace for everyone and made for a nice backdrop for the day. The service was perfect; the presider was one of our favorite priests, Father Larry. All of Kay's 8 grandchildren had a role in the mass and they were so genuine. After the service, we stopped in at the reception and ended up staying most of the afternoon. We loved visiting with Chuck and Teri's families and I loved seeing Chuck's parents' wedding pictures. I had never seen Chuck's mom as a young woman. So beautiful.
This morning, Jack continued to try to rent a blower/air mover to speed the drying of the carpeting that got wet. Still none available anywhere. I researched the possibility of buying one and found a well-priced model with excellent consumer reviews. We started making calls and found that it wasn't going to be much easier to find one to buy. We finally discovered the one and only store in the greater Chicagoland area that had one in stock was the Home Depot at 87th and the Dan Ryan. Yes! We headed straight there and got ourselves a Ridgid 925 air mover. It works like a champ! I am in love with it.
I cannot close out my post about this week without acknowledging the Boston marathon bombing and the explosion in Texas.We are praying for all of those people impacted by those events and all of those who have experienced their own personal tragedies this week that no one even knows about. I am thankful for all of our blessings and for our normal, everyday problems.