This story is much better when I tell it in person.
Saturday morning, November 25th....8:40ish....I heard a loud noise that sounded like a hurricane or a tornado. I sent Rex toward the kitchen to see what the noise was. He started shouting that there was water everywhere and someone had left the shower on. So up I hop (was snuggling with the most adorable twinnies ever!) and run toward the bathroom. The whole time I'm half way cussing Darren for leaving the shower on. There is water everywhere. It was pouring out of the bathroom into the bedroom and former dining room where we have our school books. I am sure there was about an inch of water on the bathroom floor.
I reach the shower only to find no water coming from the faucet or shower head. At that point I'm confused. Then I turn around and see that the toilet paper roll is dripping wet. Ohhh, of course, the toilet - idiot. So I lean over to find the shut-off valve. (Thank you, Dad, for teaching me the basics of life.) At this point the water is showering me from head to toe. It is very cold and very powerful. So cold and powerful that I am having a hard time catching my breath. This search for the shut-off valve proved fruitless. The toilet didn't have one. SOOOO, down the stairs to the basement I go.
There is water covering 2/3 of the basement. Some places had a little water and some corners had inches of water pooled.
These were pictures from afterwards before clean up.
The most alarming thing is I didn't know where the shut-off for the whole house was. I am searching everywhere and flipping every shut-off valve I could find. I could still hear the raging water from the toilet upstairs so not getting very lucky in that endeavor either.
At this point I start yelling for the kids to find my cell phone. Darren and Blase had gone to morning Mass and were not around to assist me in my search for the shut-off. I end up finding my phone in the bathroom because of course that's where I laid it down in the rush to turn the water off. Remember, the water is STILL pouring out of the toilet at this point.
I called our landlord, my cousin Greg, and he doesn't answer his phone. So I called Darren's phone as I walk outside to see if Greg is in the yard (he lives just down the street). I'm dripping water and barefoot walking up and down the sidewalk on a frost covered morning. It had to have been a sight. Half way through the second ring it hits me that Darren might still be in church so I hang up. Then I called Greg's house instead of cell phone. Someone answered and it took a full two minutes until Greg answered (think he was still sleeping). I started screaming into my phone, "Greg, where is the whole house shut-off?" "GREG!!!" He tells me where to find it (behind the water heater) and then, because the adrenaline is still pumping, I yelled "thank you" and "do you have a shop vac" because those are very important things in that moment.
At some point during all this I managed to tell Stephen to get the twins dressed and for the boys to pick the books up off the floor and move the school work out of the water.
The water used up all our towels and all of Greg's towels that are in storage here. What a mess it was. It wasn't the way I expected to spend our 17th wedding anniversary.
Still dripping with water...
Later that afternoon while we were washing up the towels the washer quit. I'm pretty sure Greg didn't want me calling him again that day. In fact, I tell Darren to call Greg if it's just good news or a question. He's gonna think I only call when it's bad news or a major issue.
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