I said in many posts that I don't have a lot to write about. We have no kids, no big trips to brag about....we just work hard each day and love life! But on November 30th, our world changed.
Jason and I were on our way home from visiting a friend at the funeral home since her daddy died. That brought back a wave of emotions. Although every situation is different, it's never easy losing a parent. My heart broke for my friend because I knew her world had been changed forever. I wanted to make her world better, but I knew I couldn't take away the pain.
Jason and I made it home and were walking in the door. My friend called to ask me to put her absence in online since she wouldn't be at work for the rest of the week. So I helped Jason light a fire in our fireplace and sat down to enter my friend's absense. Jason went to go check on our Lab puppies. 5 minutes later, BOOM!
I yelled at Jason, shaking, not sure what just happened. It was suddenly dark, and I had debris all over me, and I saw installation fly across the room. I just thought something had exploded because the fire was still going. Jason ran in, grabbed a Subway cup, and put out the fire. I got up and thought the worst was over.
That's when I saw flames. Knowing Jason just put out the fire in the fireplace, I knew that wasn't good. It was small, so I knew it would be ok. Jason and I looked at each other. He was yelling, "What do we do?" I grabbed my phone and called 911. The operator was asking all kinds of questions. When I told her what was going on, she told me to get out of the house right away. I yelled at Jason to get out, but he was trying to turn off the gas at the fireplace. The operator was telling us to get out. She was VERY firm. I got outside, but Jason stayed in. My heart was racing. Finally Jason joined me. We felt so helpless. Finally a lady arrived in a small SUV. Jason's first response was, "What good is she going to do?"
She ran in, looked at what was going on, and I could tell in her voice panic had arrived. She grabbed my arms, looked in my eyes, and said, "You need to grab anything that is important you, you're house is about to blow up."
I will never forget those words for as long as I live. Still makes me shake to think about it. I started turning in circles....what was really important to me? My first thought was my folder with the letter my mom wrote me from her death bed. No--it's just paper. The words are in my heart. All of the cards Jason has given me? The lady told me to run...get out now! So I grabbed my computer and thought--I'll have my pics!!
The next few minutes seemed like eternity. The lady asked Jason to get a water hose to the fireplace. Praise God we had a hose hooked up to the line at Ella's pen. So Jason was outside, feeding the hose inside. I was yelling for them not to ruin the floor. Silly, huh?! As I saw the water pour onto the floor and all over the TV, I had to walk away. The fire trucks were calling this lady, asking where the exact location was. So I grabbed the radio and started talking to them, while Mrs. Emily and Jason worked on the fire. I was feeling pretty good about everything because the fire had died down. A second later, the fire flew up and started taking over the ceiling. My great room was quickly burning away.
I ran to the street to wave down the fire trucks. I was really nervous. The first of 7 fire trucks arrived. The firemen jumped out, suited up and ran the hose around to the fire. I let them do their thing while I waited outside. I called a few people to let them know what was going on. Our sweet neighbors came over to check on us. That is when I lost it. It hit me what was going on.
They finally put out the fire, but the firemen couldn't tell us 100% the fire was out in the attic, so they wouldn't let us spend the night. That was a long night. When we returned around 6:30 the next morning, we didn't know what we would find. Thankfully, our house was still standing.
Little did I know what all this fire would bring. Since it was propane, the RR Commission was involved. So the next day, it seemed like a million people came into my house. Then an attorney from our insurance called us at 8PM that night. He informed me this fire would be under investigation. In other words, no one could come in to fix our house until the investigation was over. Ron, the atty, told me it would be about a week until they were done. The contractor told me it would take about 2 weeks to rebuild the burned part of the house. So in my mind, I would be home in 3 weeks.
So the sweet lady from the company that came to get all of our clothes, curtains, rugs, bedding, etc. started bagging up all of our belongings. The insurance guy told us we would have to go buy some clothes and things to last for the next few days until the company washed a few outfits and returned them.
So Jason and I checked into our hotel, thanks to a sweet friend for getting us the room--it was the college softball World Series in College Station--NO ROOMS! When we checked in and started getting ready for bed, we realized we had nothing to wear to bed....much less to wear the next day. We felt helpless. So off to Walmart to buy what we needed. I wore the same clothes for 2 days--puts everything in perspective! Then I realized I didn't have my laundry room to wash clothes. It was sinking in, and I missed home!!
Fast forward 53 days....phone calls, random people coming to my house to take pipes, pics, etc....we finally made it back home.
I wish I could say those 53 days were wonderful, but it was so very stressful. We are still not 100% finished, but at least we are home.
I could write a book on everything I learned. Main thing---God is in control, and He's bigger than any problem we face.
This was one of the most scariest times in my life. I'm hoping for a less dramatic year!
The Mom Initiative
8 years ago
