I have yet to find the sugar, but I spied a bottle of soy sauce in our bedroom next to the hockey sticks.
When youre in a hurry to evacuate, any semblance of organization goes out the window.
Thats OK.
Were thankful it was just a practice drill and our home wasnt flooded.
Tuesday nights ordeal came with many lessons, but none more important than what it means to be a friend.
With nary a phone call, we had a dozen friends and neighbors show up to help move a good share of our belongings out of harms way. I hadnt seen some of these people in months. Others, I knew only on a superficial level. After Tuesday, thats changed. Theres something about straining to lift a table or an overpacked box of photo albums that brings you together.
In hindsight, I probably overdid it. But the thought of dragging out a waterlogged sofa or books made it seem prudent.
It was also a lesson in humility.
For a brief instance, I felt so exposed as people saw our catch-all closets, the little-used items underneath the kitchen sink, and oh, that refrigerator in the basement where wed been in denial that lukewarm was cold enough.
But I quickly let any reservations drop because I knew what brought these people our way was their concern and that they could care less about what kind of a housekeeper I am.
Dont judge me, I said to a friend holding open a 50-gallon trash bag as I feverishly cleared out a storage closet in our basement.
I wont look, she replied.
I couldve kissed her.
When I look at our belongings now piled high in a couple of rooms, I realize that Ive been holding on to a lot of things that have no personal value. Some were items from my parents or grandparents. Some things I purchased but no longer use.
Brian and I have promised that were going to think twice before returning some things to their previous spots.
