Whatever else I’ve
been doing today—and I’ve been busy—I have kept one eye on the TV and on my
cell phone for text messages. My Tomball daughter-in-law is good about texting
and posting notices, so I’ve seen videos of the creeping lake level at their
house, notices of school closing for the coming week (Jacob will be so
jealous), reports of assorted family in Houston.
Everyone seems
safe, if not particularly comfortable. Lisa reports the rain just doesn’t quit.
Her parents, in Sugar Land, have been fortunate so far. Her brother lives in a
block where there have been helicopter evacuations, though his house, as of
this morning, remained dry. A sort-of in-law called rescue with six inches of
water in the house and was told to stay put. Rescue teams were focused on
life-threatening emergencies.
The pictures of
the whole area are devastating. Saddest one I saw showed nursing home residents
in the badly hit town of Dickinson, sitting in waist-deep water as they waited
for rescue, which apparently came shortly after the picture. FEMA authorities
say they will be in the area for years. And it’s not over yet—rain at least
through Wednesday. Think how dirty that flood water is. When I see pictures of
people wading in it, I shudder, thinking of snakes and who knows what else. You
could trip on a loose brick and plunge face-first into that nastiness.
Austin is also getting
pounded. My son-in-law reported last night that after a day of normal rain the
storm really hit last night, and Megan said this morning that the worst was yet
to come. I haven’t heard from them all day and am waiting for a report. My
nephew and his family were in El Paso to visit his grandfather, and their
flight back was cancelled. They are apparently driving from El Paso to Austin.
Not sure what kind of weather they’ll hit as they near Austin, but who would
want to make that drive with four kids? I’m waiting to hear about them too.
Meanwhile in Fort
Worth, we have drizzle, sprinkles, and sometimes a slow steady rain. The ground
in our back yard is so saturated that water accumulates and moves on to the
patio quickly. A good thing: it’s been a good weekend for reading and napping—I
slept so hard this afternoon that it was hard for me to come back to reality.
We had a super special
dinner tonight. Christian grilled really good steaks, and he knows how to grill
it just the way I like it. Very pink in the middle. I saved half mine for lunch
tomorrow—cold steak is one of life’s great treats to me. Tonight, we had
potatoes and salad with the meat. A true luxury, and I’m full and sleepy again.
I have taken a
two-day vacation from my novel in progress, so tomorrow I get back to it, plus
I have guest blogs to send off. They’re written but need that final proofing
and tweaking. So it’s back to work as usual. I’ve enjoyed the lazy weekend, but
I’ll be glad to get back to my routine.
Hope everyone is
dry and safe. Prayers for those who were caught by this monster storm.
