So, my morning started pretty ok. DH got to sleep in because the base was on delayed start due to flooding and power outages from the nor’easter. The public schools are all closed again (same reason), but that doesn’t affect us; homeschool would happen as normal. After a bit of sleeping in because of the dreary weather (Empress was up, promptly, at 7:30, as usual, and in our bed, telling us all about everything), we meandered downstairs for breakfast.
Looking out back, I decided I should go check on the plastic deck boxes down on our little dock on our glorified drainage pond. When I got there, I found the dock awash in four or five inches of water (it’s normally about two feet above the lake level) and one deck box about to go over the edge of the dock into the lake.
The other box was nowhere to be seen.
I phoned the DH to notify him that the kayaks (unlike the bright orange one we saw drifting, upside down, across the lake yesterday) were ok, but a deck box was missing. Ok, one muskrat-gnawed deck box with a Super Soaker water gun inside. No big deal. He encouraged me to look for it, just in case it was still afloat, saying he’d seen something floating across the lake before he left for work.
I pulled out the binoculars and checked (knew all those hours at sea looking for contacts would be helpful for something). Much to my surprise, there it was, hung up in some willows submerged in the lake.
No sweat! I told the kids I’d be right back, pulled out a kayak, launched it from the steps, paddled off the dock (like I said, it’s under four to five inches of water, which is enough to float the kayak where we’re usually walking), and set off for the deck box. No reason to let it sink while waiting for the DH to get home this afternoon and help, right?
All was going well. I had the top lid panels pulled off, mostly drained, and in the boat. I had the loose items that were still in the box (no water gun, unfortunately; we’ll have to look for that later) in the kayak, too. Now, for the box itself.
That didn’t go so well.
I was trying to pull it out of the water enough to let the water drain out so I could perch it in/on the cockpit in front of me and paddle home before the wind kicked up again when I counterbalanced a little too much.
I can now say that, yes, I have flipped a kayak in our lake.
I managed to throw the stupid deck box into the mostly-full-of-water kayak and pull the whole lot over to someone else’s nearby pier. Shoved the box against the grassy hill and hoped it would stay until I came back with the minivan. Emptied most of the water out of the kayak. Verified that, strangely enough, I still had the paddle, both earrings, both contact lenses, and both sandals. And, hey, growing up in Wisconsin, I could say that I wasn’t nearly as cold as I’d been some days in July swimming in Lake Michigan.
As I told the DH later, all I actually lost was my dignity and a hair band.
I got back in the kayak as the wind kicked up and paddled home.
The kids didn’t seem at all interested that Mommy was dripping wet, just that I hadn’t fed them breakfast, yet. I directed Diva to serve cereal to everyone and sloshed off for a warm shower. After getting drier and warmer, I drove the van over to the other side of the neighborhood, dragged the deck box and its remaining contents up the hill, and loaded it all in the back of the minivan as the wind and rain started back up in earnest again.
Recovering over a belated breakfast of bread with chocolate spread and a hot chocolate, I started reading the paper. Flooded cars, flooded houses, popping electrical transformers. My little deck box escapade was hardly the worst thing going on today.
And then I noticed: oh, look, it’s Friday the 13th. Lucky me.
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