The Flood of 2026

I dropped Rebekah off at school on Wednesday morning, thinking it was a bit raining, but otherwise a typical first day of high school. Don went to work in the office. It was to be a peaceful day at home. But the rain kept coming. And it wasn't light. It wasn't even hard. It was intense. At times I texted Don my concern, but he wasn't here so he thought nothing of it. I was worried they were going to hold the students at the school, or let them go early, but no one said anything. 

Eventually I went to pick up Rebekah. In the electric car. I was a bit nervous. Even more so when I saw the amount of water standing on the road that I had to go through. The cars in front of me seemed to be okay with it, so I continued on, knowing full well I would not be driving home that way. 

I got Rebekah and we headed home. We drove by the local creek. It was rather full. The rain kept coming. We made it home. It didn't let up. Eventually Don came home. After laying down and relaxing a bit he checked his phone to find that we had some heavy weather. Yes, I've been trying to tell him that all day - however, it's different when your consumed with work. 

The next day they canceled school because of flooding. I still had my PT appointment which I assumed would be fine, however the roads through town were closed. As I drove by the creek it was crazy full. Parts of town that I had to pass as I backtracked were under water. 

I made it to my PT a little late, but continued on. As I was waiting for my chiropractor Don's mom called to tell me that I probably couldn't mow today, that there was standing water in her back yard by the fence. She then called me back to say she had standing water on the road in the front of her house. I asked her if she would like me to come get her on my way back home and she said she would be find. Next Rebekah called me. She told me that grammy called her and she needs to evacuate but she couldn't reach Don. Don was home, but on a meeting. I told her to get a piece of paper, and write, "GRAMMY NEEDS TO EVACUATE" on it and hold it up to him. She did it while I was on the phone and sure enough, Don announced to the meeting he had to go help his mom. 

When I got home, she was there. But it didn't last long. Soon, Don did his own inspection. He found the water receded enough that the house was safe. And cookies. He found cookies. Awfully nice of him to rescue those poor cookies from their abandoned state... 

Here they are walking back to where they left me with the car. Notice, the road is still closed. But that didn't stop mom. As soon as she found out it was possible, she was back home. Don continually checked in on her, but she was quite the independent lady. 

That night it rained some more. School was canceled again the following day. The community came together to sandbag everything that needed sandbags. Our little house was fine. The pond filled up quite nicely. There are two pictures there - think the top one is Wednesday, the bottom Saturday.  

Rebekah had a friend out (Friday I think?) and they went to look at the aftermath. She sent pictures along the way. 

Meanwhile other pictures came in: 

This one is from Anderson, but is significant. That's an old abandon pool Don use to swim in when he was young - totally surrounded by water. 

By Monday it was dry enough to think about mowing. It was intense. 

The grass loved the water and grew like crazy. Not quite like the above meme but, quite the job. Took me almost 3 times as long. I noticed mom's neighbor was struggling with her mower so when I was done with mom's I went over and finished her back yard since I was on the tractor at the time. No one should have to do that by hand. 

And thus we survived the Summer Flood of 2026 

DCI and High School Begins

Rebekah did another year of DCI. Two days of practicing and then a performance at Lucas Oil. She's down there. 

Extra points if you can find her. 

We stayed and watched some of the professional DCI bands. They were amazing! Eventually I was overcome with pain and forced the end of fun. I felt so bad. One day I will be better. 

And speaking of eventually, it was time for school to begin. High school. Rebekah may be ready, but I am not. We did the annual father's blessing. 

But notice, the absence of a video. Rebekah says she's done. I'm trying not to fight it. I even tried my best to be okay with the lack of back to school picture. I tried everything from hints, to pleas, to begging, to guilt. Nothing. Then finally, Rebekah said, "First time dropping me off as a 9th grader...." and I replied something to the extent that I won't remember it because of the lack of picture. She took my phone took the following: 

A little foreshadowing: Notice the rain the background. Tune in next time for the Great Flood of 2026.... 

Two More From July

Marching Band: once a year the fire department comes out to make sure the Marching band isn't too hot. 

And....

Grammy's birthday! Rebekah decorated a fabulous cake! We love you mom! 

 

August Books

 

I read this because I liked the author's The Help. I liked The Help better. This was okay. I didn't like the direction the book went with the main story. A bit dark for my taste. Kidnapping, mother turns to running a brothel. And apparently it makes everything alright in the end. 

Librarian flees war with her magical plant and some books. Fun middle grade / early teen book. 

The story of Chernobyl. The second one I read. I found this one interesting, especially with it's insights concerning the aftermath of Chernobyl leading to the downfall of the USSR. 

History of Tuberculosis. Very interesting, if you're up for that kind of thing. I liked the insight into the disease and societal behaviors. 

I figured this would help me understand The Odyssey better, which it did. 

Sanderson is an easier light read for me, so I tend to download him when he's available and when I need a change of pace. I got much more out of this the second time around. 

Middle grade fiction that was on my to-read list for a while. It's okay. Nice story about a lady and dragons. However, I'm not motivated to read the rest of them. 

Fascinating history of early Germany. There's lots of information in there; I'm sure I missed a lot. Mostly likely will re-read this one. 

And this one too. History of medieval France. Lots of good information. I find this time period fascinating but mostly we hear about England. Worth the read. 

Another re-read. This is another more calming reset series I turn too. 

Figured another read of this one would be appropriate. Definitely written in a younger style, perhaps for a younger audience? And yet, I think it may just have been the way he wrote this book. Lord of the Rings is also written for children, yet the style is so much different. Much more to my liking. 

So this was written by the same author as Forty Autumns, which is one of my favorites, however, I didn't know this until I was in the final chapters. I found this one fascinating from the beginning. WWII historic retelling of soldiers and Jewish boys, and their eventual meeting and then after the war. Highly recommendable. 

Not sure why I read this one. Murder mystery - who done it - police investigation type of stuff. Not my usual read. It was okay - good even - but it's dark and that kind of changed my overall opinion. 

Way - To - Long. It kept going and going. The story is somewhat interesting if you want a book that keeps going and going.... Spans the realm of the Gods and the realm of men. And of course the love that spans both worlds.... 

True retelling of a WWII spy. It's pretty good - amazing what people went through, and that they were able to come back and still live somewhat normal lives. 

Historical fiction concerning WWI and the Russian revolution. Deals with a Czechoslovak unit trying to get to back to their land. Pretty good. Liked the history involved. 

I liked the idea of this story, but then the main character decided she needed to make poor choices to give her dying friend something to occupy her mind and I just lost interest. 

Really liked this book on the Edmund Fitzgerald. It's actually a lot about the Great Lakes and the lives of the people that work close to the Great Lakes. Highly recommendable. 

Turns out I'm not a Steinbeck fan. I read Grapes of Wrath in high school and it gave me nightmares, however with how much I enjoyed my reread of To Kill a Mockingbird, I decided to give him one more chance. Nope. Still not a fan. Really nothing enjoyable to me about his overly dark book. 

Kind of fun fiction fantasy read about books, their protectors, and endless possibilities. However, there's a sketchy part in the middle concerning a book the main character jumps into that ruins my ability to recommend this book to the YA age group. Very sad because I liked it in every other aspect.  

StoryGraph Stats: 

How Goodreads stands: 

Want to Read

January:         1478

Last Month:   1416

To Date:         1406

Read 

January:         1708

Last Month:   1823

To Date:         1840

July

Our anniversary. 16 years. Don and I went out to a restaurant, then picked up celebratory ice cream on the way home. I got the Bee some, and then did my best (right up against the AC) to get it home to her. It started to lean a little... but I we were successful. 

When I got home, Rebekah gave me a sign that she and Don brainstormed together. Very nice. 

The evening of the 3rd I was mowing the lawn (or attempting such as the mower wasn't working - but Don fixed it - such a handy man!) I noticed something scurry under our AC unit outside. Turned out it was a baby duck. I texted the Bee and she came out to investigate. Eventually she had to come in because it was night. 

The next day she went back out to see if it was still there. It was. Apparently it was fending for itself because Rebekah said it had a bug half in and half out of her beak. 

Our neighbor noticed Rebekah's actions and we got the rest of the story. A duck had nested in our neighbor's front bushes. Most of the ducks hatched and the mom duck took those that hatched with her and left. The other few eggs eventually hatch but were left to themselves. One stayed in her bushes, the other ran towards our AC. 

Rebekah found an animal rescue place nearby and made with our neighbor and her granddaughter to take the ducks. Very proud of Rebekah and her efforts in behalf of the ducks. 

The 4th celebration was delayed because of rain, but the show went on the day after. It was a quiet affair in our backyard. Wouldn't have it any other way. 

I talked Don into planting some flowers. 

Mid month: 

By the end of the month they looked like the following. Don stated, "they actually look good this year...." And yes, I had some words with him after his statement. 

While I was doing massive amounts of homework, Don took Rebekah to Gene's Rootbeer. 

Don and Rebekah did some grilling. 

Marching band continued. Since I didn't get the first day picture, I took this one. 

And finally, our summer view from the back porch: