Literally.

We were used to riding through a storm all summer long, but we pulled through. Now we were praying for a beautiful Labor Day weekend. We needed it as a family. Just to get away for a few days would be nice.

On September 3, we went to bed, not knowing what was coming. But it all just felt right with the world again. I’d wake up every now and then just hearing it pouring down rain and really didn’t think a thing of it. Boy, that morning did we wake up to a surprise.

The river came up several feet overnight and was rising quickly. Our neighbors here at home had lost their driveway, our basement did get a little water, and we didn’t know what the river looked like. All we knew was it was rising fast.

My dad called me to make us aware of how quickly the river was rising and suggested we pull our camper. My dad knows that river; he did this year after year with my grandparents. Plus, we didn’t want to take the chance with more possible rain coming that evening. We weren’t supposed to get the rain we got that night; why take the chance with our new camper? I honestly would have been a nervous wreck anyway.

We needed all hands on deck at this point. My husband left work, my kids stayed home from school, and we got to work. Ty and Chris secured our docks really well and pulled up half our steps. Kenzy and I got to work on the camper, packing everything away in totes. I wanted to be mad, but at this point I’m like, “I’m done with everything.”

All I could do was laugh. It was some kind of sick, cruel joke. The river just wasn’t meant to be this season, and it broke my heart. But there is always next year. Family will always, always come first. That’s all that mattered.

As we packed everything away, I thought, “Well, I guess I have the whole weekend to decorate for fall now at home.” That made me happy.

When Kenz and I got done packing, we moved outside. We cleaned out our outdoor kitchen in our camper, moving tables and securing whatever we needed outside. Our river lot is on the higher side. It takes a lot to flood us, but the problem is our lot is the very last lot, which is wonderful. It’s more private and has very little traffic, but the canal is next to us. So, if the water comes over, that’s where it comes in, hitting our lot first. I believe it typically floods around 18 ft. Losing our camper, even though it has full coverage insurance on it, would have been horrible, so playing it safe was better. Cleaning everything up only meant it was one less thing we had to do in October.

When I was pulling up all our outdoor carpets, I began not feeling right. I felt really off, and the more I worked, the worse it got. I never said a word; I just kept working. God bless my dad, who came up to help us that day, and thank God he did. We couldn’t have done it without him and the kids.

We were finally finishing up. My dad was towing our Kubota tractor that did some heavy lifting throughout the summer for us up there, and our truck was pulling our camper. Finally, after hours of packing, we were ready to go home.

My dad walked over and put his arm around me.

“Honey, when you get home, I want you to relax. Don’t overdo it,” he said.

I hadn’t said a word about not feeling good but agreed with him. I knew how I was feeling.

As we got home, we just had to get all the food put away, and the camper needed power washed. Everything was an absolute muddy mess.

Come on, Andrea, you got this. Just finish helping, and we can be done. I thought to myself.

At this point, it was like I was forcing my body to move as I helped power wash the camper. It was the weirdest feeling. I was becoming dizzier and feeling like I could pass out as I was carrying another tote into the house. I knew at this point my blood pressure had to be really low.

I grabbed my BP cuff and tried taking my BP, but it wouldn’t read it.

Chris yelled up to me from the basement, “Babe, can you give me a hand folding up our outdoor rugs?”

“Um. Noooooo. I’m so sorry,” I replied. (That was tough for me to say, by the way.)

He yelled, “Why? What’s wrong!?”

“I’m just not feeling right and think my BP is low but can’t get my darn BP cuff to work!”

He flew up the steps and said, “What do you mean you don’t feel right? Sit down!” As he grabbed the cuff.

You guys, my BP was 68/52.

It’s no darn wonder I didn’t feel good! Chris took the best care of me that evening and felt so bad he didn’t notice.

Long story short, in all this, I believe after months of pushing myself through everything, my body was like; ok girl, we done.

It literally stopped me in my tracks. I didn’t decorate that weekend. You know what I did? I slept. And boy, do I mean I slept. By Monday, I felt like a brand-new woman.

No, I didn’t even get to go to the Labor Day party.

But what I did do was allow myself the grace of doing absolutely nothing for once.

Allowed myself to do what I should have done weeks before. Rest.

Later that week I asked my dad, “Dad, at the river, when you told me to go home and rest, why did you say that?”

His answer? “Because you looked really peaked and you didn’t feel good. I was really worried about you.”

I’m 41 with an ICD. My parents, husband, and family always worry. I’m so used to pushing myself and pushing myself, even in the darkest storms.

It had been a heck of a few months, but you know what? We, as a family, made it.

It was a challenging few months, but with God’s strength and grace, we got through.

Phew. What a summer. OK, bring on the holidays now. I’m ready.