The Great Flood

You really discover what means the most to you in a crisis situation. This past Wednesday was the first of several of the coldest days that we've had so far this winter. That morning I went to wash my hands in our downstairs 1/2 bath only to discover that nothing happened when I turned the faucet on. No water came out. Patrick had only left for work a few minutes earlier so I called him to report this news. He told me that the pipes were probably frozen from the cold and he told me where the shut off valves were in the basement, just in case they burst. He said it probably wouldn't happen, but just in case...

Fast forward through the day, Holly came down to visit (we planned to have our Christmas together...Holly, me and Rachel). Patrick was still at work and Holly was playing with Henry in the living room. I had just finished feeding William and was holding him. All of sudden we hear the sound of gushing water. GUSHING. I jumped up, set William on the chaise (Holly prefers to say "threw"--maybe it sounds more dramatic. But please know I wouldn't throw this sweet boy!), ran into the 1/2 bath and saw streams of water gushing from the cabinet, grabbed my cell phone, dialed Patrick and then what? No I didn't remember the off valve in the basement. In my panic I ran upstairs to grab bunches of large bath towels. Meanwhile, Holly has scooped up William and called up to me, "don't worry, it's ok". From upstairs I yell, "It's not ok, my makeup is in there!". She repeats, "it's going to be ok". Thinking my makeup loving best friend surely didn't hear me, I repeat, "my makeup is in there!!". Patrick answers his phone, hears the frenzy and asks, "did you shut off the valve?". Oops! Downstairs I run, turn the valve and hear Holly yell, "it's off!". Then we sopped everything up with towels, learned that my makeup was safe inside it's damp bag and cracked up at the hilarity of it all. What worried me most? That my makeup would be ruined. Not to mention my hair dryer and straightener that I also store under the sink. All cosmetics are safe and well. Oh, yeah...the sink is working again, too. Patrick spent a good part of the night working on pipes and insulating things more so hopefully it won't happen again.

The soaking wet mess....all of the towels that my instincts told me to throw all over the floor.
My dripping makeup bag. Here I am feeling so sad about the possible ruins of its contents.