Recently Joel went down to the basement to get a container of yogurt from our small refrigerator. “And!!!! Get over here!!!” I ran over and saw the basement had 4” of water that covered the entire floor. We were just down there the day before working and exercising. It happened so fast, it was shocking. I put on my rubber boots and ran downstairs.
For 15 years I have had a studio in our very dry basement. Emphasis on the dry, not a drop of moisture. So I was freaking out! Most of my work was up high. But…there was a section of the basement, under the stairs that had all of my framed drawings and some small paintings in cardboard boxes. I ran around, scrambling to take all the work from the floor and move it to higher ground. When I started listening to myself, I heard whimpers and little screams and a lot of crying. In my head I was saying, “it’s just material stuff, so what the frames cost a bloody fortune, what has it been doing just sitting there for the last 10 years, It’s my precious work, this is what I get for not being motivated to show my work, people survive major disasters and loose everything, how dare I complain about this”, and on and on my thoughts were racing and my hands were shaking.
I went into my studio and remembered a big portfolio that I hadn’t put away from a week ago. I ALWAYS, have it in a draw, except this one time! UGH!! There must have been a 100 drawings in there. OK,OK, OK… take a breath and another. I look around and feel so overwhelmed, my heart was pounding.
Oh right, speaking of hearts, 2 weeks before Joel had open heart surgery. He had a valve repair and was on the mend. This job of the wreckage was all on me. Joel couldn’t lift more than 10 lbs and had a huge incision on his chest. I was dragging things up and down to the garage, up on tables, where ever I could find space.
We called our friend/handy man, Guy, he came right over, we called a basement flood company, they came right over too. They couldn’t seem to get rid of the water or figure out where it was coming from. It was mayhem! The unfinished part of the basement was filled with boxes of stuff from my kids, my Dad, my Mom, Joel’s Mom’s and a lot of other stuff we’ve been throwing down there when we didn’t know where else to put it.
After 2 days of trying to figure out where the water was coming from, we finally had someone survey the property and found a blocked water drain at the end of the driveway. As he pulled out the debris from the drain, the water came pouring out. It was a beautiful sight. Finally the water was draining form the basement and we could start the drying process.
It has been about 6 weeks since the flood. Taking a step back and surveying all our stuff, my work that was ruined, the time spent cleaning and moving stuff, I have finally found peace of mind. I have taken some of my work and re-worked it, cutting and gluing it back together in new iterations. We have purged much of our soggy stuff, boxes filled with un-important belongings that felt like they never belonged. We are rearranging our basement so that it will be a functional space that we can breath and work. The initial trauma and drama of a flood is literally draining. It is shocking, exhausting and still there will be a lot more work to do. But there has been an awakening to what is important in a life filled with boxes of memories, collections and junk. It is the fact that stuff is just stuff, memories are in our souls and leaving all of it for our kids to deal isn't fair to them. There are 2 ways of getting rid of a basement filled with stuff, one, I recommend having a flood, the second is take the time, go down to survey everything, purge one item at a time and keep going until you're done. As Joel heals from his surgery, I am grateful for so many things, a healthy outcome for him, my healthy able body to do the work, my friends and family for support and love, and good people to call on in case of a flood.
