Thursday, Sept 15th started like any other. I got up, got ready, and that day I drove to Richmond for a Common Table meeting. I had had some conversations earlier in the week about a possible placement of two little brothers, ages 4 and 1, but after following up with an email on Thursday it sounded like another placement was found. I was planning to do respite for a super cute and energetic girl over the weekend and was pretty excited about having a girly weekend. I had used removable stickers and put her name on the wall in the room she'd be staying in. I arrive home late Thursday afternoon and notice a puddle of water on the sidewalk in front of my neighbor's house and also on his front stoop. I knew it hadn't rained - but he recently purchased the home and I figured some work was being done. So I stick the key in my front door, open it, and am greeted by standing water. STANDING WATER Y'ALL, IN MY HOUSE! Deep breath Rachel, find the source, shut it off, clean it up. Okay, got it. I figured it was from something in the kitchen - but no... hmm, downstairs bathroom? No... hmmm, washer? No... weird. Nothing is leaking. I walk next door (our townhouses are duplexes) and no one answers. I walk around back and there is water pouring out the back of my neighbor's house where the wall meets the foundation and his half of the backyard looks like a swimming pool. WHAT THE HECK?! Okay, water is seeping into my home from my neighbor's and no one is home. Deep breath Rachel, get his water shut off. Called the water company, they can't just turn off a neighbor's water because you ask them (duh, Rachel), called the non-emergency police number and talked to a very helpful officer and within minutes a big ol' fire truck was in front of my house. (Side note, Cooper is loving the water BTW, he's LAYING in the water in my house - the water hadn't seeped over to the furthest back wall in the living room, so there are dry places to lay, but NO, Cooper is chilling in the water and licking it off the carpet, sheesh.) So here are these three nice fire-fighting folks who train to save lives - but they're just here to shut off the water. They search my house, realize what I know - that's it coming from my neighbor's house - shut of my power and head back outside. I know, you're thinking, "Rachel, why didn't you just call your neighbor?" Well, dear friend, it never occurred to me to get his number. He was going to clean up the place and rent it out and we'd only met once or twice. (You'll be happy to know I do have his number... now...) They walk around and look inside and are getting ready to bust in the door when my neighbor shows up, he actually lives nearby and I think he saw the truck and drove over to see why it was in front of his house. He and the firefighters head in and find INCHES of water covering the first floor. The culprit - he had his water turned on earlier that day and the previous owner had removed the washer but left the valve open. Hey - so - lesson to all of you purchasing a home - be there when the water is turned on or make sure EVERYTHING water could come out of is off.
Here I am thinking, "I have a little girl coming over tomorrow for the weekend, what do I do now?" I called the placement coordinator and told her the situation, she was going to see if she could find another family to take her. I call my parents, boyfriend, insurance and ServPro. Fast forward to 9:30pm and my first floor has half a dozen industrial fans blowing and a dehumidifier running. My parents had come over - originally to see how they could help - but we ended up hanging out and watching an episode of the X-Files (which I recently found on Netflix and began watching, had to sleep with a light on after the first few episodes...) My boyfriend had come over with the snack I requested - chips and dip. My head was spinning and no one else had been found to watch the little girl. "Okay, Rachel, this is what adults train for: stressful situations that need to be put in their place. Get organized and get your head in the game." Yeah, whatever, I went to bed...
Friday morning rolls around. I'm watching an adorable two-year-old for a few hours and am exhausted from the evening before. I rec'd a call on the way to watch her that a family had been found - but I'm feeling more in control of the situation and had been looking forward to a girly weekend - so I say I'm still game to watch her. Then I get another call. It's the one. THE ONE. The one that has changed my life. It was about the little brothers, the 4 and 1 year old. The four year old was going with family but DSS was going to court to get the one year old removed. Would I take a one year old boy as an emergency placement if he was removed from his home? UH - YES! People Places then did one of the many things they do best - they set a game plan. They would call back the other family to do respite for the little girl and I would get the little boy - if he was removed. There were a lot of moving parts to the situation, a lot of phone calls, and a million thoughts running through my head. The outcome: I picked up the sweet girl from school, took her for frozen yogurt, explained what was happening and then took her to People Places to play until the other family could come get her. While I was there "J" arrived and I was an instant foster-mom.
I have a million more things to share about these first, almost-three-weeks, and hope to get them written down soon - but reliving all of the above sure took a lot out of me. It also reminded me that I have an appt today with an insurance adjuster and that I'm tired of dealing with insurance.
To be continued...
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