On Sunday night, August 28 2011, the further Fred and I got from the impending flood in our neighborhood, the more relaxed I became. I was safely on my way to my mother's house and Fred on his way to his. I didn't care about any of our stuff, not my wedding dress on the second floor, not our wedding album, not...anything. It's just stuff. It's all replaceable. The most important thing was that we were all safe.
The plan was simple and one that we had executed before; three of dogs were going to stay with my mom in Beachwood until we could get the house back in order and we were going to keep Cleo with us since she and Annie didn't get along. Fred, little Cleo and I were going to stay at his mom's in Belleville until the water receded. Bianca was staying with with her mom in Budd Lake because of the storm. We didn't have to worry about her. That was the plan.
Roads were quickly becoming impassable due to the flood. I couldn't take my normal route to civilization just over the swollen river. I had to take a detour through the back of Lincoln Park. I had to drive through Montville and take Rt.287 South to Rt. 24 East to Rt. 78 East to the Garden State Parkway South. It sounds complicated but it was only about 15 miles out of the way.
Everything seemed fine when I was on Rt. 287 South and traffic was flowing normally. Rt. 24 was no problem but Rt. 78 East was closed due to... flooding I suppose. I had to take Rt.78 West to...I wasn't sure where. I was on a detour from my detour and I was totally panicked. I had three unhappy dogs with me and now I had to take another detour. Every exit on Rt.78 West was closed and there was flooding all around. I couldn't even turn around so I cried, relaxed, focused and just kept driving west. I remembered Rt. 78 West would take me back to Rt.287 South, further south, and that Rt.287 South would take me to the Parkway. I instantly felt better and thanked God. Then I cried again.
At my mom's house, I set up the dog's bed and crates. I grabbed a Snapple and nuked a Lean Cuisine. That was the first thing I ate all day. I was on the "flood diet," where I am too stressed and too anxious to eat anything. I basically fast from the time the water starts to come into the neighborhood to when the water starts to recede. The diarrhea is terrible. I pet and kissed everyone goodbye, assured the dogs that I would be back to pick them up soon and got back on the road...
The plan was simple and one that we had executed before; three of dogs were going to stay with my mom in Beachwood until we could get the house back in order and we were going to keep Cleo with us since she and Annie didn't get along. Fred, little Cleo and I were going to stay at his mom's in Belleville until the water receded. Bianca was staying with with her mom in Budd Lake because of the storm. We didn't have to worry about her. That was the plan.
Roads were quickly becoming impassable due to the flood. I couldn't take my normal route to civilization just over the swollen river. I had to take a detour through the back of Lincoln Park. I had to drive through Montville and take Rt.287 South to Rt. 24 East to Rt. 78 East to the Garden State Parkway South. It sounds complicated but it was only about 15 miles out of the way.
Everything seemed fine when I was on Rt. 287 South and traffic was flowing normally. Rt. 24 was no problem but Rt. 78 East was closed due to... flooding I suppose. I had to take Rt.78 West to...I wasn't sure where. I was on a detour from my detour and I was totally panicked. I had three unhappy dogs with me and now I had to take another detour. Every exit on Rt.78 West was closed and there was flooding all around. I couldn't even turn around so I cried, relaxed, focused and just kept driving west. I remembered Rt. 78 West would take me back to Rt.287 South, further south, and that Rt.287 South would take me to the Parkway. I instantly felt better and thanked God. Then I cried again.
At my mom's house, I set up the dog's bed and crates. I grabbed a Snapple and nuked a Lean Cuisine. That was the first thing I ate all day. I was on the "flood diet," where I am too stressed and too anxious to eat anything. I basically fast from the time the water starts to come into the neighborhood to when the water starts to recede. The diarrhea is terrible. I pet and kissed everyone goodbye, assured the dogs that I would be back to pick them up soon and got back on the road...
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