Floods of '08, Part II

I made it into West Des Moines for Abby's appointment. She had to drink glucose and wait for an hour, then have her blood drawn. The good news is she doesn't have gestational diabetes. We then went to look for a dress for her to attend a wedding.

After that she went with me to shop for a gift for Steve for Father's Day. I finally got a brilliant idea for him, just needed to track the item down. Can't tell you here what I was looking for because Steve gets invitations to read my blog entries so I can't spoil it. After three stores, I finally got it.

The trip back home really brought the flood situation back to the forefront. I drove on I-80/35 and was distressed to see the waters nearly to the road. There was a warning sign earlier stating 'Traffic delay ahead, be prepared'. I thought the traffic was nearly normal until I neared the NE 14th Street exit. The delay began. It turned out the reason for the delay was the people slowing to see the near devestation on both sides of the interstate.

By that time I was talking on my phone with my nephew in Alabama. He could hear my words of dismay. He had heard about Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, but not Des Moines. I had received a call from Steve earlier that he was helping Abby and Justin move things from their basement to the main floor of the house. While he was there someone connected to the police came to the door asking for voluntary evacuation.

From then on, they loaded Abby's vehicle with the things that would be hardest to replace (computer, television, stereo equipment, etc.). It must have been a hard move to make. They were told if they didn't leave soon, they wouldn't be able to leave.

I explained all this to Mike and he couldn't believe it. He promised to pray for our families which I coveted dearly. With Abby being six months pregnant, they didn't need this. I offered them our home and she responded they were going to Justin's mom's house. I relaxed as I know Theresa will take care of them.

By now, I was driving near the Merle Hay exit. They have the letters M H created by plants right before the exit and the water was nearly halfway up the M. I couldn't help but exclaim when I saw it. Mike felt my pain. Because I got a lump in my throat, it was hard to talk, and I didn't want to start crying, I told him I'd only call him back if I didn't make it home. You know 'no news is good news'.

I saw the pictures Heather took of the flooded areas yesterday on her blog (http://digiscrapping.net/blog). The great news is those pics will be on the front and inside pages of the Nonpareil newspaper in Council Bluffs, along with her name and my sister's (and her husband's names). She deserves any acclaim she gets! I am so proud of her! Although the pictures show how bad the flooded areas are, they are great ones! Congratulations, Heather! Halfmoon