Red River second crest.

I didn't hear officially how warm it was today but I know it was supposed to be 60. The sun felt warm, but the winds always kick up in the spring and they were still a little cool. But we were outside as much as possible today. Dakota was queen of the deck today, it was good to see her enjoying her favorite perch. Even a tired old girl has perked up a bit with the sunshine and fresh air.

I decided to take Kota for a walk down to the dikes to see what the water is doing.  I know its rising again and due to crest this weekend.  I walked across a lot of places that looked like this...  sidewalks and streets alike that just a couple of weeks ago were under water, now with a layer of dirt left behind.




This is behind the house where I first started sandbagging.  The water is rising again, but it looks deceptively calm.  Theres even a duck floating along out there as if it always hangs out in the coulee.  Oh, and any "white" that you see, is sandbags.  I'm happy to report its NOT SNOW!

This is the other side of the road.  This whole area had water running over the road and the dike went across the street.  

The sign on the fence is pretty tattered and weathered.  But the message rings true.

This is the dike to the south of us, down by our park.  You can see the pump gushing water at a pretty good rate.  But there is still lots of room before the water even hits the bottom of those sandbags.

There is just starting to be some increased patrol and watch over these areas.  I couldn't get down to the actual river as workers were starting to haul in pumps and begin setting up again by the area closest to the river.  

But I have to admit I feel better this time.  The national weather service has steadily decreased their prediction for the level of the second crest saying now it should be just less than 38 feet.  And when you've already survived over 40 feet, 38 feet doesn't seem so catastrophic.  Plus we aren't being asked to evacuate.  The Moorhead Mayor however said a 38 foot crest would still be in the top five highest river levels recorded on the books.  So he is cautioning people to be vigilant.  Although most people I talk with have one eye on the water and the other on plans for all those sandbags to dismantle.  

Easter Sunday

Would it be a surprise if I said Nolan was up at 5 this morning ready to start hunting for eggs?  I didn't think so.  He held off till 6 and I finally acquiesced and got out of bed.  The sun was just coming up and the sky was glowing in hot pink and orange swirls.  I grabbed my camera and threw a coat over my pj's and scampered outside to get the shot.  I stood precariously balanced on one slippered foot, with the other stuck in the side of the clay dike, and squinted adjusting the lens of the camera to get the shot.  I stood there contemplating the pastel-colored sky and jumped when the newspaper delivery guy came around the corner, catching me in all of  my pj and slippers glory.  I scooted back inside the house, and sat down to see what I had captured only to have my card reader tell me my files were corrupt.  Hours later, Rick confirmed, all of the photos on my camera card were lost.

But on this day, this Easter Sunday, I somehow couldn't find it within me to be upset.  I started thinking that while I didn't have the photo of the moment I wanted to capture, I still had the moment, and that can't be changed, or undone or lost.  I was there, all bed-head and sleepy-eyed, but the sunrise was mine for the viewing this morning.  And so I let the computer drift back to sleep and began the day in earnest.  I made cinnamon rolls and got the eggs boiling to be decorated.  Later, the boys even let me sort out all the eggs plastered in Luke Skywalker and Anakin, and let me keep the pretty eggs in the bowl for one of the three photos I did get to keep. 

 Nothing about our Easter Sunday was picture perfect in the first place.  But aren't we always editing out the photos  we don't like?  We don't want to keep the ones of closed eyes and cheesy grins or the unexpected photo that catches you with your mouth hanging open.  So while we had some less than stellar experiences today, they aren't the ones I am going to hang on to.  Instead, I am keeping the images of the boys putting their suits on for Easter, with minimum complaint.  And the eagerness in which they sought out their eggs this morning.  And the wonder on their faces when pastor Dan's plastic eggs at children's moments, contained nails and a rock, and the last one which held nothing. I may have lost a few pictures, but I'll treasure the images in my head that I choose to carry with me instead.

Dump-Truck Lullaby.

Dump-truck lullaby. from Vicky Westra on Vimeo.

(I wrote this part yesterday about the night before.)  

Seriously. All. Night. Long. The trucks rumble-roared past our house. Actually? Past my ears. My bedroom faces the avenue. So don't watch the video for the "amazing" (tongue-in-cheek) footage I took. Thats not really my purpose. Just listen to what we've had going non-stop since before 7 pm last night. Did you notice the fine stacatto of the jackhammer sound of the caterpillar towards the end? To say my head is "pounding" this morning, is very much an understatement. And now because they are in our yard, my house is shaking and the glass is rattling on my shelves in the kitchen.  

Friday, April 10th, 2009

These were the pictures I took yesterday.  The long line of trucks at the dump-truck buffet... all the clay and dirt you could want for the price of one dug up lawn, a cracked sidewalk and a displaced sump-pump hose.  A low price, for flood protection.  With the help of these contingency dikes, we most likely won't be asked to evacuate our homes this time around.  

While I've documented how this event has played out in OUR lives, its played out much differently in the lives of so many others in the area.  People have lost their homes.  Many people have sustained flooded basements.  An inch of any bacteria laden water can wreak as much havoc as a foot of it can.  Anything the water comes in contact with is considered contaminated and best thrown out.  There are lawns covered with water-logged sheet rock, carpeting, and belongings being damaged with water.  

For many others, the water has yet to breach their dikes, but they have been surrounded by it daily, for weeks now.  My neighbor said her sister, while not sustaining any direct damage, has suffered many other mishaps.  The garage door openers for all three of their garage doors were burned out when the electricity went out, as was their furnace.  They have had a ring dike around their home and struggle getting to and from their house on washed out roads.  The mental and emotional toll is putting a strain on many people.  

And yet the flood "relief" has continued to roll into town.  Volunteers continue to show up and roll up their sleeves to help with an arsenal of sandbags in case the dikes begin to fail.  One community put together and delivered candy gift bags for Easter for children affected by the flood.  Several businesses have contributed semi-trucks filled with food for the food pantry. The list of thoughtful and generous offerings goes on and on.  

So in the grand scheme of things?  I consider myself lucky, blessed and extremely grateful.  The water is due to start rising sometime on Easter Sunday with a proposed second crest sometime in the middle to late part of next week.  The question is will we get any more precipitation in the form of rain over the next couple of weeks?  Too much rain could wreak havoc on the saturated system.  So its day by day we wait and wonder.  But its worth mentioning, the sun has been shining almost every day this week.  While temps are still in the mid 30's to 40's,  I for one am filled with the promise of the sunshine.  

I hope you all have a Happy Easter!  What better symbol of  hope can their be than Jesus' victory over death? Easter has always been a "celebration of renewal and rebirth" to me, and the promise of eternal life through his resurrection, granted to all who believe in Him.  

Flood Preparations: Round 2

It started with a code red phone call last night. While I wasn't overly concerned as the river is still declining, a small part of you thinks, now what? But it was just a reminder that an earthen dike was going to be constructed on the avenue running past our house beginning at 7:00 pm last night. At the end of the call a brief mention was made of closing 40th avenue when the river gets back up to 36 feet. SWALLOW. How the heck would we get out of our subdivision? There are 3 ways out and 2 of those are blocked right now? I had watched a press conference in which they said, "some homes will be sacrificed to save many other homes." Would this be us? Your mind just begins to leap-frog with possibilities when given such limited information. 

I'm guessing I wasn't the only one leaping to conclusions however. Hence call number 2. Clarification. Only part of 40th avenue would be closed, and it wasn't our part.






A little before 7 pm,  I warned the boys about the trucks and then told them if they stayed with me I would walk down and take some pictures with them. It wasn't till we were on our way home that Nolan ran ahead and Colton followed. But Nolan looked, and Colton didn't. As my heart raced into my throat the dump truck driver coming from the cul-de-sac, stomped on his brakes and Colton, oblivious scooted across to safety on the other side. By the time he was home he knew he was in trouble. I did not contain myself, yelling at him. This morning I talked more calmly with him. He layed in bed with me as we talked about listening to mommy and that big trucks can't see little boys.

And then to see if I was getting through to him, I asked, "What do you think would happen if a truck did accidentally hit you?"

He calmly and somberly replied, "I'd be dead."

"Yes," I told him. "And then what?" I asked.

"And then I'd be sad." he said.

"Why would YOU be sad Colton?"

"Because then Nolan would get a Wii Fit."

"What????"

"You know, like that girl when her sister died. Everyone was sad and they gave her a Wii Fit. And that would be no fair if Nolan got one and I didn't."

Ahhhhhh. Looks like I have some explaining to do.

Life lessons at the pizza place.

Grandma and Grandpa came and took us out for pizza last night. The boys decided on "Happy Joes." I would have been fine going to "Happy" anything after a long day of trying to figure out how to restore my internet. Its intermittent at best right now, but one way to figure out a lot more about your computer set-up is to be on the phone with tech support for a few hours a day. I can now identify and dismantle and re-register my router and modem without flinching. Its funny how our lessons come to us in life. I wouldn't have purposefully signed up for any tech classes to learn this stuff. But I had to be open to at least trying, or sit and wait for a week till Rick got home to fix it. Now what would have been a 5 minute task for Rick, literally took me hours to work through. But I seem to have figured it out, and will feel more comfortable the next time something like this happens.

Nolan got an unexpected lesson last night too. One of the draws of Happy Joe's is the games for the kids. Its like Chuck E Cheese, minus Chuck. Plus, the pizza is pretty good. So its nice having the boys at an age where they can play games and be entertained and the adults can sit and eat and talk. Nolan has become fairly proficient at some of the games and knows how to get maximum tickets out of some of them. But there was another boy who seemed to have a golden parachute. The first time the alarm sounded I had to check for myself. He had gotten the ball to go in the "firehole" for the grand prize of 1000 tickets! It caused quite a commotion. Nolan stood in rapt silence as the machine spit out its treasure amongst the clanging bells and shrill sirens. It was something akin to winning the "free" game of mini-golf by hitting the ball into the mouth of the clown, when I was young. Somehow I was convinced I could win each and every time we played, while still somehow knowing that between the slant of the boards and the size of the hole, I didn't really stand much of a chance.

And yet, here was this boy, winning all the loot and making Nolan's efforts seem grossly inept with the measly 50 or so tickets he would collect. Nolan, having spent the last of his money, sat in awe of this boy's moves that procured him so many prizes. As we were leaving, the commotion started again. The bells were ringing and the sirens were blaring. I hurried in to see the same boy, collecting yet again, another windfall of tickets. The young employee, quickly went to assess the situation and upon seeing the same boy winning the same game, summoned management. Nolan disappeared. I found him all the way outside, standing next to the car, suddenly more than ready to go. I could see it in his downturned face. He knew the boy was in trouble. He caught on to the fact that the boy had been somehow cheating the game. Nolan asked a multitude of questions about what was going to happen to the boy. Grandma and I assured Nolan the consequences would be great. And yet, Nolan didn't seem relieved by my assurances that the boy would be punished.

At bed time last night, he fessed up. He was feeling guilty and conflicted. He seemed to know the boys efforts weren't honest attempts, and yet he couldn't get past wanting what that boy had. And yet, I didn't have to ask Nolan how it might feel to be in the shoes of that boy, I think Nolan took those shoes for a walk. While he struggled with wanting and temptation, admittedly, I am relieved that at least the "shoes" felt uncomfortable to him. They weren't a good fit. His gut was telling him. I told him to trust his gut.

No internet?

I felt such empathy (and still do) for our Gitzen Girl when her computer bit the dust... and then I was woken up this morning by a little boy's voice telling me at 5 am to come quick and fix the computer. The computer is fine. My internet access is not. While Cableone maintains its a "weather" complication they are working to try and fix, ummm, its a beautiful sunny day. (okay, its 35 degrees, not truly warm and beautiful, but I am trying here) So any bets on what "weather" is code for?

Anyway, my neighbor, Darla took pity on me and I just thought I'd share my less than exciting news. I am sure I will be back in business soon.

Finding Normal.

We took Mayor Walaker's advice.  In a press conference Friday afternoon he said "Go out to eat.  Go to the mall.  Fill up with gas and buy groceries.  Rest.  Relax."  Little did he know we had already started.  Nolan's friend Riley invited him to play Thursday afternoon.  They even got to go out for pizza and Riley's very considerate parents took Colton along with Riley's younger brother Sam.  Decompression began to settle in.  When Rick got a dinner invitation for the very next night, we jumped at that chance too.  And Grandma came and sacrificed herself and her Friday night to bail us out of finding a sitter.  

We spent a delightful evening with former yearbook colleagues and talked about going to the lake, fishing, raising boys, and we reminisced about the past.  Lorrinda and I used to shop together at the annual sales meetings in whatever location the yearbook company picked for the twice-yearly meeting.  Usually we'd go to places in Florida, California or Texas.  Its one of the things we both talked of missing from our former jet-setting selves.  The last sales meeting we attended together I was 6 months pregnant with Colton but we marathon shopped at the outlet stores in beautiful Palm Springs anyway, on a mission to find appropriate fitting shoes for my swollen-larger-than-normal feet.  The search was complicated by trying to match the shoes to my less than glamourous "tent" dress I was wearing for the formal awards dinner.  

I also spent a quiet morning by the pool while in Palm Springs, writing in my pregnancy journal. The water was so blue and inviting. And I wrote about how it wouldn't be long and I could introduce Nolan to swimming in a pool. That my days of sideline watching were going to be put on hold. So I soaked up sun and stillness, and intermixed shopping with slumber and solitude. While reflecting on the changes occurring with folding another child into the mix, I had no idea the deeper changes at work. For what I didn't realize, is this would be the last meeting I would attend. A mere year and 1/2 later after welcoming our second son we would be moving, changing careers and ending a chapter in our lives.

The rest of our weekend has been filled with cleaning out some closets and creating a path-way through our belongings now occupying the main floor.  Rick left yesterday for a trip to Idaho and the boys and I are spending a quiet palm Sunday together.  

If it weren't for the rest of the news contained in the press conference last Friday, I would say we were returning to normal.  The part that I am turning a blind eye to, for now, is the news on the second crest.  With the new snow and still-unthawed ground, the national weather service has calculated a 75% chance of the river reaching a new crest of 41 feet and a 25% chance of reaching a crest of about 43 feet between the middle to later part of April. The first crest was at 40.8.  You see how this isn't the kind of news we hoped to hear.

But I will tell you, there are more disagreements over this prediction.  The Fargo Mayor, for one, disputes these numbers.  He worked hard to assuage the fear quickly rising up through the restored calmness. I choose to believe him for now.  I am taking the weekend off, if not more, from thinking about another wave of flooding.  From the looks of the tranquil streets, I'd say most people are.  But you probably haven't heard the last of it yet...