Today is the anniversary of the flood in Calgary–a big day for our city. . .
This has been a year of blessing and of testing my resilience and resourcefulness for sure—and a strong message to ‘go with the flow’. . .Perhaps to become acquainted with chaos (and maybe make friends with chaos theory as it is lived in the reality of my life, leading me to new, and still unknown (but most certainly better) outcomes.
My husband I and survived last year’s flood (and evacuations) with only slight damages and a few losses (fencing, decks, lawn furniture, and minimal flooding indoors taking only a few boxes of stored files and goods). We were especially lucky, compared to our neighbors (some of whom had 9 feet of waters filling their homes, or worse. . .the very foundation of their homes or businesses destroyed by the water).
. . .Here is where the ironic twist of fate comes in. . .) After the June flood, I have experienced three more floods, two in January (due to the city repairing our neighborhood sewer lines which were damaged after June 2013 floods. . .and then another in April, while staying with friends in Northern California. . .their sprinkler system burst, and flooded my guest room. . .go figure ! ) . . . .I have to say–it does get easier, once you know the drill.
So. . . Today. . .
in honor of the anniversary of the Southern Alberta Solstice Flood Disaster . . . here are some great THEN (June, 2013) and NOW (June, 2014) shots of our experience in Calgary. from http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/alberta-flood-then-and-now/
A year after the 2013 Southern Alberta Flood Disaster
The city is moving along. . . .though it is going slower for some of us, especially those who were living in communities hardest hit.
One year later, the highway has been repaired.
Blessings of Good Will Continued
. . . City crews and insurance were fantastic, coming out right away to evaluate and assess damage, clean up the mess, dispose of contaminated goods and pack up my office, library (books were up and not damaged, thank goodness), laundry room, bathroom and the old sauna-room-come-store-room.
Again our fantastic Calgary community came through with sterling support.
Thanks to Mike and Marla Finch, owners of Self-Connection books, I had a new temporary office to work out of within days. They have a workshop room as well as a little treatment room, and I was (and still am) able to use the treatment room on all the same days that I usually work (on my laptop now)–For people who consult with me. . .they have the best waiting room in the world–with a fabulous selection of books, CDS, stones and crystals, and coffee or tea. What a blessing Self-Connection and their staff are to our community!
Office help from my virtual assistant, Leah Meister, helped to notify my clients of the new temporary office location—and, with barely a hick-up, both my husband and I were into the next phase of disaster recovery. . .working with contractors and insurance to rebuild what was destroyed.
From Lemons to Lemonade –As long as our downstairs was completely ripped up, my husband suggested that we remove the sauna room which housed two drains. (A risk making it susceptible to back-up and flooding.) We have expanded my library and home office space. A positive benefit once the unexpected renovations are complete.
It has (of course) been slower than expected, of course . . .We got drywalls in this last week–still need sanding and painting and all that. . . The construction crew are nice guys. . .good energy going into the walls.
We still need to complete the repairs to the plumbing, get the stones out of the drains that the river flood deposited there. . .(we just discovered this one). . . and install a sump-pump, and water alarm system, among other flood safety alarm measures. All this will soon bring our home up to becoming ‘disaster ready’. . . A reality that one must contend with when living by the Bow River.
We may not be able to prevent a natural disaster, but we can be more prepared.
Hopefully we can complete plumbing issues in the next few weeks if there are no more surprises, and then move on to flooring. . .(until, eventually the packing team from the contractors will bring back our salvaged household goods put them back in the house 🙂 …when the June-July summer rains stop we will be able to finish repairing fences and decks in the yard.
It feels good to finally be seeing some progress on all this. . .it has been slow . . . tests to patience . And now all is beginning to move forward at last.
How do I embody these learnings. . .this will be a question that I can know as time moves forward. I am most certainly capable of more than I was aware of. . .more able to ‘go with the flow’ that I imagined, and more receptive to help . Along with so many others I am especially grateful to my husband who has been such a tremendous ally in all this. We all have short-comings, after all–frustrations, exhaustion, bone weary tired lack of focus–he has not held my short comings against me. For this I am especially grateful. Gratitude. I suppose that too is another lesson, in the face of constant challenge.
As mentioned earlier. . . I have experienced FOUR FLOODS this year—the massive flooding of our neighborhood on June 20 -21 2013, , two more in January, and the most recent in April
The lesson for the year for me. . .There are many forces larger than we (and me)–and though it leads me into unknown territory. . . and support comes forward, often in unexpected ways, if I am willing to wait.
Embodied Awareness 