skeptic.

i was just chuckling as i reflected on the conversations leading up to the flooding. so i'm sharing them.

saturday.

it rained, and rained. i LOVE rain. so i grabbed my books and went to ugly mugs to read and watch the rain.

a friend texted me something like "i heard the world was ending in nashville, are you ok?"

and i texted back something like "yeah! i love storms!"

internal dialogue: weird.

a few minutes later my roommate called me to make sure i wasn't on the interstate because "cars are floating down the interstate."

internal dialogue: i wonder what that really means..

me: cars are...floating down the interstate?
her: yeah. i just wanted to check on you.
me: what?
her: the interstates are flooding.
me: WHAT? i don't understand.
her: people are trapped, they're climbing over the medians are trying to get away.
me: what??
her: yeah, it's crazy. we decided not to go anywhere.
me: what?

i can't remember what i was picturing in my mind, but it wasn't a flood. i still didn't believe she meant "flood." not that i think she's a liar. like i would live with a known liar.

i kept reading. it was the last few articles of the federalist papers. i had momentum on my side. i had to finish while my brain was still comprehending.

when i got back, i just remember standing there and saying "what?" a million more times. and expressing confusion because the sections of the interstate that i drive on are so far above ground. "aren't the interstates, like, above ground?" i asked.

it has been so very bizarre. even when i was helping one family bail water out of their basement, i still wasn't thinking "FLOOD." because the streets around their house were fine. but then i started seeing the pictures of downtown.




then i remembered the one other flood i've been through. it was in the 90's. i was a tiny person. so here's what my child mind remembers. lots of free sandwiches at my church. with really good turkey. we were helping people, we weren't the victims. this woman my mom knows was very upset. she kept saying "my pitchers, my pitchers. they're all gone. my pitchers." and i thought "i wonder why she's so sad about her dishes."

later on in life i realized she meant "pictures."