lucky

Debris hauled out of flooded basements lined the streets of Sunnyside.

We've been at home for a few nights now, and the big cleanup is done. Insurance adjusters were by yesterday, so that's in progress now too. All our utilities have been restored. The neighbourhood is looking good, through some people are still cleaning. We were absolutely amazed by city services, at how quickly the debris along the street was hauled away.

Wide angle view of the soggy stuff we brought to the curb.

Not having all of that to look at is certainly better for morale. Firefighters knocked on our door more than once just to see if we needed any help, volunteers came by with food and water, food trucks provided great fare, and Peter's Drive In even brought chocolate milkshakes to volunteers. Really, it was the best possible state of emergency and we are LUCKY on all accounts. We're sad for our fellow citizens who lost a lot more or who have been permanently displaced from their homes.

We're so proud of our neighbourhood and our city (and our Supermayor Nenshi). Just a block from our house was "The Crisis Cafe", a meeting point for free food; a garage of free supplies like safety goggles and bleach; and a great big whiteboard where you could report the tasks that you needed help with and literally within minutes volunteers would cheerfully arrive at your house to help haul, demolish and clean. Having fresh people in every day to help out really helped to keep the energy up. Now that the frenzy is over, we're actually going to miss such community involvement. I hope there is a way that we can keep it going and show that care and dedication to less fortunate segments of Calgary's population.

Our first day back at home, Finley played with his favourite things.

Lucky artwork by Lisa Brawn.