Rain + Stupidity = FLOOD!

Last night my brother-in-law came home about 3 or so and I heard a knock on the bedroom door.

"What!?"

"Umm..the basement is flooding and the battery backup alarm is going off"

So I decide to get up. Figured it wasn't something I wanted to wait till morning to tackle. I get up and head to the basement with Chris and expect the worst. It turns out that the sump pump was working. In fact, both pumps were working. The battery backup has a pump on it so it was running because the water level was so high. When Chris got there he said it was overflowing. He said that we had a TON of rain that night. That he had to drive about 15mph on his way home because it was so bad. And that it wasn't just a short burst. It had been raining like that for a long time.

Luckily there wasn't that much stuff on the floor that could get damaged. And there wasn't that much water overflowing. The sump hole is in our storage area which is unfinished and most of the stuff in there is up off the floor, in rubbermaid containers or not important enough to worry about. (a good way to clean out old junk!). I look at the wall and see water coming down from the top of the foundation. It wasn't actually running. (I saw evidence of it coming down). The bathroom is next to the storage room and the floor in there was wet and the carpet just outside the bathroom was wet. That is about 9 sq ft of carpet that we cleaned up. I love my new shop vac.

It turns out that part of the reason for the backup is my fault. The other day I brought a bunch of wood back from my dad's farm. I drove through the yard to unload it so I didn't have to carry each piece all the way around the house. (Sounds lazy and it is. But it was the end of a long day and it was starting to rain). Anyway, I moved the hose that drains the sump out of the way and it ended up in the yard. This apparently was too much for the sump pump since it didn't drain freely (and pushed some water back towards the foundation). Once I moved that back into the driveway the sump pump started draining the water in the hole.

However, the alarm on the battery backup would not shut off! It was showing that the battery needed attention. There are lights on there so I can tell why the alarm is going off. Usually its because the battery needs more water in it. It went off because the water level got too high as well. But we filled the batter with water and the water level was below the sensor. So instead of deal with it at 4am I decided to unplug the whole thing, pop the hot wire off the battery and work with it today. (and hope we didn't have a power failure!).

Ok. It wasn't a little rain and not a lot of stupidity...and only a little flood. But I think you get the idea.

Hurtful Words

Something happened yesterday that really got me thinking about my actions and the way that I treat other people, especially behind their back.

I really try to be a good person and not talk bad about people behind their back. I have tried to make it a point to not say anything behind somebody's back that I wouldn't say to their face. And seriously try to understand what will and won't hurt people's feelings if I do say it to their face. However, it seems lately that I have been letting that go. I haven't been thinking about how other people would interpret the things that I say. I may not think it is hurtful but it really is.

This came up because somebody said something about somebody close to me and I saw the pain in their eyes when they told me about it. This wouldn't have been as much of a big deal except it was from somebody close to this person and was interpreted as being 100% serious (not jokingly). This person doesn't normally care what other people think and treats other people way better than I do.

I don't want to be the person that makes people feel the way I saw yesterday. It pains me and hurts deep inside to even think about the things I have said to people. If I could just think about the things I say or the way I say them before I say them then it would be so much better.

I have always tried to be an honest person. I learned quickly that lies lead to so much pain that it isn't worth it. Not even a little lie. However, this honesty has made me brash in some cases. Brutally honest isn't always the best approach. Over the last couple years I think I have gotten better but still think back to some times when I have hurt the people close to me without knowing it.

I'm done now. I just wanted to get this out. I hope that anybody reading this might think about the things that they say. Just because you aren't saying something to somebody's face doesn't mean that they won't hear about it. It doesn't even make it ok if they never do hear about it.

Follow Through!

I have been inundated lately with people who say they are going to do something and never follow through. It is really becoming one of my largest pet peeves. Seriously, if you say you are going to do something then do it. If you don't think you will be able to do it or don't want to then just say so! I would much rather have you say you don't want to do something or that you are not sure if you can or will do something and never follow through!

At the very least, if you know you told somebody something and won't be able to keep your word then you should let them know as soon as possible. This is just common courtesy and respectful.

Now that the rant is out of the way I can try to think about what lesson is being taught here. Is it patience or maybe forgiveness? It is my hope that I will eventually not get upset in the first place. Once or twice would be fine. People make mistakes. But it seems like a lot of people are doing this lately.

I know I am bitter and a bit on edge. That is adding to my frustration too. I will work on calming down and being more understanding of people. I just wanted to get this off my chest and written down. No more whining (in posts) for at least a couple days. :)