What the stinkin' heck? Winter comes to GA

So you know how I live in GA?  And some of the reasons I live here are that I can have pansies growing in pots all year, and it rarely snows, and the temps always stay in the solid double digit range.  I have an ice scraper somewhere from my WV, MN, IL NE, KS days, but I don't know where, and I don't care. Well maybe I should start to care.  Usually, in GA, on that rare chilly morning that our windows are frosted, we just grab that spray in the yellow can, spray the windshield and voila, problem solved.  However, these being the times that they are, I believe we're in for some weather surprises, as demonstrated.

Last Tuesday the temps were predicted to go single digits.  That's a big deal here in GA and they did the right thing by cancelling school, because we don't have any warm coats or gloves or hats.  We made sure the hoses were unhooked from the outside spigots because we didn't want any trouble.  Tuesday night, as we were preparing to return to school, Gabe asked, "Did you notice that the water was weak?"  Denial.  "You probably showered while the washer was running."  As a matter of fact I thought I heard the other shower running.  Tuesday morning I thought I heard the shower still running...wait a minute.  I looked all around and saw nothing until I went downstairs.  The patio was wet as was the carpet in the basement.  Luckily, I had been taught where the main water valve was a few months before.  (Set that as a goal when you're fifty.) I turned it off and my brain hit overload.  I didn't have a plan or a clue what should be done next.  I proceeded with a normal morning schedule, kids to school, me to seminary.  It was there that I made contact with intelligent adults (my friend Rebecca) who returned with me to my house and its situation. At least it had occurred to me to call the plumber.  Apparently, I was about the millionth person in our community to call with a water problem.

Eventually the nice plumbers got to our house.  As suspected, we had a broken pipe.  I learned about how the pipe goes along the outside wall and if you cut the wall open there it is.  And said pipes are about as flimsy as a plastic straw so if it gets really cold outside, like no one ever expected, then you get a sizable crack which enables lots and lots and lots of water to spread itself all around the inside of your house. They replaced the flimsy pvc pipe with another flimsy pvc pipe and showed me where the spigot valve was.  Now I'm little miss find the water valves.  I also have been taught to turn these spigot valves off until summer comes.

I made more phone calls to lots of flood restoration type people, as did those millions of the Georgians who had been calling the plumber the previous day.  And then we sucked up a lot of water with our shop vac.  It was a strangely satisfying job as I dumped about 14 gallons of water into the bathtub.

Eventually, the professionals came and started doing their professional thing.  It was an interesting experience.  When I see people on the news who have escaped a tornado or other natural disaster but have  lost personal belongings, I always think, "They only lost things.  They still have their family."  This is a true principle, but I was surprised at the loss I felt.  It wasn't as much the personal belongings, but just the general "This is how things were and now they aren't any more."  I didn't know that was going to be the last time I laid on my basement floor and watched a movie.  I didn't know my costume closet  was going to get drenched and some of my costumes would not be the same.  Nothing serious, I just wasn't ready.  I'm thankful for the compassion I gained in that little tutorial.  It needed to happen.

And now, my carpet is clean and I can lay on the floor and possibly watch a movie if we figure out how to reconnect the electronics.  And I hated the inconvenience, but I feel a little stronger and a little more prepared for life.  My new pipe is wrapped in a blanket while waiting to be covered in sheet rock again, and all my valves are off, and I'm thinking, "What can I do to be more prepared for surprises?" And that's a very grown up thought, so life is good.