I’m not even sure how to explain what happened last night. Just a heads up, this is probably going to be a long post, but it needs to be written in full. Excuse the poor photography, as it was very difficult to capture what was happening in the dark.

It is with a very heavy heart that I have to write another one of these posts.

(Our front yard, street, and my car.)

Last Monday was the most scared I have ever been due to severe weather conditions. I was literally surrounded by a wall of funnel clouds. I’ve never felt an adrenalin rush quite like the one I had when I had to yell for all of the gym-goers to take cover in the women’s locker room. But we made it through, cleaned up the debris, and moved on with normal life.

I naively assumed we had made it through the worst that springtime weather in Arkansas has to offer. Those in Alabama and other portions of the state were not so fortunate, but I really could not grasp how severe weather affected their lives.

(The water line after it began to recede. This is roughly 2 feet from our garage.)

As Chef Bob and I sat down yesterday evening to watch a movie (well he was watching the movie, I was filling out a job application) the TV began blaring severe weather warnings…specifically flash flood warnings. My dad casually told me to move my car from the street to the driveway since we live in a low-lying neighborhood notorious for flooding in a specific portion of the street.

But I was not parked in that part of the street, so I acknowledged his concern and promptly returned to my work. The rain was really coming down but honestly I thought it was nothing more than just a storm. Chef Bob was exhausted from planting flowers in the front yard all day, so we both decided to call it an early night (around 10pm). I went upstairs to watch TV and he retired to bed.

(Water as far as the eye can see. This was after it had receded about 3 feet.)

By 12:30 AM it was still pouring rain. I’m not sure what compelled me, but I decided to look out the window before I finally dozed off to sleep to see if the street had flooded at all. I figured if it looked bad enough I would suck it up, run outside, and move my car…no big deal. I couldn’t see through my window because it was raining so hard, so I went downstairs to look out the front door.

What I saw I will never forget. Our entire yard was underwater. My car was underwater along with 5 others parked in the street. My neighbors had water rushing into their homes and at the rate the rain was falling we were roughly 1 foot away from having our house flood.

(Close up shot of the car completely submerged. The headlights are on because the circuit shorted.)

I felt that same rush of adrenaline surge through my body as I tore through the house to wake up my dad. He was confused, I was shaking, and all I could muster was “my car is underwater.” His face dropped, my heart ached, and I knew I had made a horrible mistake that I could not undo. But at that moment it was unimportant. It was just a car, but people’s lives (our neighbors) were at stake.

The neighborhood came alive at that moment. My next door neighbor waded through the water to check on us. I called across the street to check on the old woman who lives there. Others simply waved to let us know they were okay. And then we took a breathe and prayed that the rain would let up enough to allow some water to recede.

With no internet, we relied solely on my cell phone to check the weather. Two more severe thunderstorm systems were headed directly for us and there was nothing we could do but wait and watch. And so we did. Chef Bob and I stood in the garage until nearly 3AM praying the water wouldn’t rise. By that time neither of us could keep our eyes open so we made an executive decision to go back to sleep. Risky, but there was really nothing else we could do.

(This morning I walked out to find my car window completely rolled down. Apparently that also happened when the circuit board shorted. There is no way to roll it up so rain has been falling into my car all day. Not that it really matters at this point.)

By morning the water was gone. It was like it had never been there. And yet so much had changed. Mud is everywhere and the ground remains saturated. The only remnants of the water levels are piles of sediments that were/are littered throughout the street. The rain continues to fall, preventing any hope that clean up can begin.

As for my car, well I don’t mind telling you that I am devastated. I know that it is a material object and I am hyperaware that it is nothing that cannot be replaced, but it held a lot of sentimental value to me. For one thing, Chef Bob worked tirelessly to earn that car. It was his baby and he kept it in pristine condition. When he passed it down to me I promised him I would do the same, and I failed him. That in itself is what keeps getting to me. Disappointing a parent is one of the worst feelings in the world.

(Destroyed.)

Opening the door this morning was like looking into a war zone. Mud, soot, and dirty water everywhere. Fortunately I did not keep anything valuable in the car (except my workout binder log), but it did not make rummaging through what was once a shining symbol of my dad’s hard work any easier.

(The workout binder.)

At this point I am of the mentality that what is done is done and all I can do is move forward. The insurance company has been called and a tow truck will come tomorrow morning to take my car to an assessor to figure out what (if anything) is covered by insurance. I’m not sure how I am going to continue with personal training if I do not have a car to get from gym to gym. Those are all details that need to be worked out.

But it will all work out. It has to.

Keep calm and carry on.