Hello,
Until recently, I’m not sure I could have pin-pointed the worst day of my life. Unfortunately now,
I’m very clear on the date and time. Wednesday, December 30th at 7am, Amanda and I woke up to a text message from her father Bernard. In the text were pictures of our house. That night we had stayed with Cyndy and Tim Smothers, her mom and step-dad. The pictures showed our house, half of which was under water.
The water had completely filled our finished basement and was about two steps from the top floor. The scariest part was that the Meramec River had not yet crested. The Corps of Engineers report showed it had another 4-5 feet to go. My son Jett had just woken up and I sat up in bed to hold him. It was at that point that I lost it. As a new father, my greatest responsibility is to provide a roof over my family’s head, and I had failed to do that. Of course, that thought isn’t logical, but it’s how I felt, and still feel at times. I held my son and wept.
Let me back track for a second. The one question that I have been asked the most is why we
didn’t get all of our belongings out of the house. For this, let me provide a timeline.
Until recently, I’m not sure I could have pin-pointed the worst day of my life. Unfortunately now,
I’m very clear on the date and time. Wednesday, December 30th at 7am, Amanda and I woke up to a text message from her father Bernard. In the text were pictures of our house. That night we had stayed with Cyndy and Tim Smothers, her mom and step-dad. The pictures showed our house, half of which was under water.
The water had completely filled our finished basement and was about two steps from the top floor. The scariest part was that the Meramec River had not yet crested. The Corps of Engineers report showed it had another 4-5 feet to go. My son Jett had just woken up and I sat up in bed to hold him. It was at that point that I lost it. As a new father, my greatest responsibility is to provide a roof over my family’s head, and I had failed to do that. Of course, that thought isn’t logical, but it’s how I felt, and still feel at times. I held my son and wept.
Let me back track for a second. The one question that I have been asked the most is why we
didn’t get all of our belongings out of the house. For this, let me provide a timeline.
Sunday, December 27th
Christmas had just passed and it was my sister Stephanie’s birthday. My extended family were
out to eat at Red Lobster to celebrate. We received a call from Bernard saying that the river might flood and we should think about sandbagging. I wasn’t worried. The Meramec River had flooded a few times in the five years we lived at our house. Even though we were in a flood plain, the water hadn’t come close to us. Nonetheless, we got home that night and started to move some things from the basement to the upper-level.
Monday, December 28th
The Corps of Engineers report showed that the Meramec River was going to crest New Year’s
Eve at 45.1 feet. The previous record was in the flood of 1993 at 45.3 feet. At this point I began to get
worried. I sent out a Facebook status asking if friends would come over that night to help us sandbag. I called off work that day and began bringing additional items from the basement. I spoke with my
neighbor Ken who has lived in the neighborhood for 40+ years. I asked him how high the water got in
1993. He told me that the water had barely gotten in the basement. I asked him if he thought there was any chance it might get in the top floor; he rejected the notion. Let me be clear, none of this is Ken’s fault, I’m simply trying to walk you through my thoughts at the time.
After reviewing the parameter of our house and the predicted water level, we realized it would
take over 5 feet of sandbags around our entire house to prevent any flooding at all. At that moment, we decided instead to move our items from downstairs to upstairs because in our mind, there was no way it could reach the top floor. That night, my friends Matt Scheer, Mark Scheer, and Jeff McGee came and we moved all of the heavy furniture from the basement to the top floor.
Tuesday, December 29th
On Tuesday, the Corps of Engineers report showed that the River wouldn’t crest until NYE on
Thursday so I went in to work like any other day. I took my lunch break and visited the house. I found
that the water had reached our fence. It had been there before so I wasn’t extremely concerned. While I was home, Laclede Gas came and informed us they were taking our gas meter so we would not have any heat that night. This is when I realized that we would need to stay somewhere else, because we couldn’t stay in a cold house with a 4 month old. As I was about to get in my truck to go back to work, I realized that the water was now two feet past the fence. It was rising, and rising fast. I called Amanda, and let her know she needed to get home quickly. My friend Ben Wade and his girlfriend Casey Hall came and helped us move the last remaining items in the basement. Tim and Cyndy came over as well and helped us move things and watch Jett.
Around 4pm that day, the water began flooding into the basement. Of course, even though
there was no way that the water would reach the top floor, we still decided to get some important
things out of the house just in case. We moved our Sleep Number bed, our computers, TV’s, important
pictures, and some clothes. Amanda’s brother Bryan came with a trailer and we also got my mowers
out. Around 7pm that night, the water was almost up to the bottom step (5-6 inches) and we left the
house, fearing that the roads would trap us in, and stayed that night with Tim and Cyndy.
Wednesday, December 30th
I could not have imagined the water would have gotten that high. It was up to the top step.
Wow. After I pulled myself together and got dressed, Amanda and I drove to there and Bernard took me on a Jon boat to the house. We literally boated up to my deck which is usually about 10 feet in the air.
Amanda gave me a list of things to grab. At this point, we knew that the water was going to get in our
main level, but since the house was only accessible by boat, we weren’t able to get anything other than some clothes and keepsakes out that we had left there. As we drove away from the house that day, Amanda and I had a moment in the car where we
wept. That was tough. We knew our stuff was going to get ruined, the baby room, the couches we saved up and bought years ago when we were struggling financially…but there was nothing we could. Time wasn’t on our side.
Thursday, December 31st
I drove to the house on Thursday, but the National Guard wouldn’t let me go very close to it.
The water had crested at 47.3 feet, shattering the previous record. I took some pictures. The water was almost to the top of the railing on the deck. Basically, the water was to the doorknob of the front door, or the top drawer of our kitchen cabinets. I took some photos and left. There wasn’t much more we could do at that point.
Sunday, January 2nd
The water was almost completely out of the house, and all that remained were a few inches that
Tim pumped out with a sump pump. We had almost 20 amazing friends and family members come and
help us clean out the house. Every single thing we owned was on our front lawn. We took pictures of
every item for insurance and tax purposes. Unfortunately, we don’t have any insurance on our contents, just the building. Homeowners insurance doesn’t cover that because it occurred in a flood. As we sorted through our items, we saved what we could, and threw away or burned what was damaged. Over 85%
of our contents were lost. It was devastating. One of the hardest times we had was sorting through the nursery. Amanda had worked on a dresser for Jett’s room when she was 9 months pregnant. We bought it on Craigslist and she sanded and painted it herself. When my friends brought that dresser out to the fire pit and we had to watch it burn, it was too much for her to handle. What can you do in those moments: laugh? Cry? Both?
Today, everything we own fits in a 10x10 storage unit.
Ok, so enough doom and gloom. Let me tell one of my favorite quotes of all time.
"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the
helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I
remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many
helpers-so many caring people in this world."
-Fred Rogers
We have been incredibly blessed by so many people during this process. Cash donation, gift
cards, clothing, toys, dog toys, help sorting, clean-up, and more. We have had our closest friends, family, and even complete strangers help us. The Red Cross, Salvation Army, Calvary Temple A/G, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, and Tzu Chi foundation have assisted as well.
I honestly, don’t know if we will ever be able to truly convey how appreciative Amanda and I are
of every single item or thought that has come our way.
“The healthiest of all human emotions is gratitude.”
-Zig Ziglar
Amanda, Jett, and I will bounce back from this. We have an amazing family and great friends.
We try to look for the positive impacts in such a negative experience. Amanda and I have both realized how important it is to give. When we rebound from this, and we will, we are committed to
demonstrating a life of giving, and showing Jett how important it is to love those around you, and love
sacrificially. As awful as this has been, I have had some of the most raw and earnest moments with
Amanda, our family, and our friends. Your support has been the strength that we have been leaning on.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you; because of you we can rebuild our life.
-with sincerity and humility,
Brett, Amanda, and Jett
Sunday, December 27th
Christmas had just passed and it was my sister Stephanie’s birthday. My extended family were
out to eat at Red Lobster to celebrate. We received a call from Bernard saying that the river might flood and we should think about sandbagging. I wasn’t worried. The Meramec River had flooded a few times in the five years we lived at our house. Even though we were in a flood plain, the water hadn’t come close to us. Nonetheless, we got home that night and started to move some things from the basement to the upper-level.
Monday, December 28th
The Corps of Engineers report showed that the Meramec River was going to crest New Year’s
Eve at 45.1 feet. The previous record was in the flood of 1993 at 45.3 feet. At this point I began to get
worried. I sent out a Facebook status asking if friends would come over that night to help us sandbag. I called off work that day and began bringing additional items from the basement. I spoke with my
neighbor Ken who has lived in the neighborhood for 40+ years. I asked him how high the water got in
1993. He told me that the water had barely gotten in the basement. I asked him if he thought there was any chance it might get in the top floor; he rejected the notion. Let me be clear, none of this is Ken’s fault, I’m simply trying to walk you through my thoughts at the time.
After reviewing the parameter of our house and the predicted water level, we realized it would
take over 5 feet of sandbags around our entire house to prevent any flooding at all. At that moment, we decided instead to move our items from downstairs to upstairs because in our mind, there was no way it could reach the top floor. That night, my friends Matt Scheer, Mark Scheer, and Jeff McGee came and we moved all of the heavy furniture from the basement to the top floor.
Tuesday, December 29th
On Tuesday, the Corps of Engineers report showed that the River wouldn’t crest until NYE on
Thursday so I went in to work like any other day. I took my lunch break and visited the house. I found
that the water had reached our fence. It had been there before so I wasn’t extremely concerned. While I was home, Laclede Gas came and informed us they were taking our gas meter so we would not have any heat that night. This is when I realized that we would need to stay somewhere else, because we couldn’t stay in a cold house with a 4 month old. As I was about to get in my truck to go back to work, I realized that the water was now two feet past the fence. It was rising, and rising fast. I called Amanda, and let her know she needed to get home quickly. My friend Ben Wade and his girlfriend Casey Hall came and helped us move the last remaining items in the basement. Tim and Cyndy came over as well and helped us move things and watch Jett.
Around 4pm that day, the water began flooding into the basement. Of course, even though
there was no way that the water would reach the top floor, we still decided to get some important
things out of the house just in case. We moved our Sleep Number bed, our computers, TV’s, important
pictures, and some clothes. Amanda’s brother Bryan came with a trailer and we also got my mowers
out. Around 7pm that night, the water was almost up to the bottom step (5-6 inches) and we left the
house, fearing that the roads would trap us in, and stayed that night with Tim and Cyndy.
Wednesday, December 30th
I could not have imagined the water would have gotten that high. It was up to the top step.
Wow. After I pulled myself together and got dressed, Amanda and I drove to there and Bernard took me on a Jon boat to the house. We literally boated up to my deck which is usually about 10 feet in the air.
Amanda gave me a list of things to grab. At this point, we knew that the water was going to get in our
main level, but since the house was only accessible by boat, we weren’t able to get anything other than some clothes and keepsakes out that we had left there. As we drove away from the house that day, Amanda and I had a moment in the car where we
wept. That was tough. We knew our stuff was going to get ruined, the baby room, the couches we saved up and bought years ago when we were struggling financially…but there was nothing we could. Time wasn’t on our side.
Thursday, December 31st
I drove to the house on Thursday, but the National Guard wouldn’t let me go very close to it.
The water had crested at 47.3 feet, shattering the previous record. I took some pictures. The water was almost to the top of the railing on the deck. Basically, the water was to the doorknob of the front door, or the top drawer of our kitchen cabinets. I took some photos and left. There wasn’t much more we could do at that point.
Sunday, January 2nd
The water was almost completely out of the house, and all that remained were a few inches that
Tim pumped out with a sump pump. We had almost 20 amazing friends and family members come and
help us clean out the house. Every single thing we owned was on our front lawn. We took pictures of
every item for insurance and tax purposes. Unfortunately, we don’t have any insurance on our contents, just the building. Homeowners insurance doesn’t cover that because it occurred in a flood. As we sorted through our items, we saved what we could, and threw away or burned what was damaged. Over 85%
of our contents were lost. It was devastating. One of the hardest times we had was sorting through the nursery. Amanda had worked on a dresser for Jett’s room when she was 9 months pregnant. We bought it on Craigslist and she sanded and painted it herself. When my friends brought that dresser out to the fire pit and we had to watch it burn, it was too much for her to handle. What can you do in those moments: laugh? Cry? Both?
Today, everything we own fits in a 10x10 storage unit.
Ok, so enough doom and gloom. Let me tell one of my favorite quotes of all time.
"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the
helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I
remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many
helpers-so many caring people in this world."
-Fred Rogers
We have been incredibly blessed by so many people during this process. Cash donation, gift
cards, clothing, toys, dog toys, help sorting, clean-up, and more. We have had our closest friends, family, and even complete strangers help us. The Red Cross, Salvation Army, Calvary Temple A/G, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, and Tzu Chi foundation have assisted as well.
I honestly, don’t know if we will ever be able to truly convey how appreciative Amanda and I are
of every single item or thought that has come our way.
“The healthiest of all human emotions is gratitude.”
-Zig Ziglar
Amanda, Jett, and I will bounce back from this. We have an amazing family and great friends.
We try to look for the positive impacts in such a negative experience. Amanda and I have both realized how important it is to give. When we rebound from this, and we will, we are committed to
demonstrating a life of giving, and showing Jett how important it is to love those around you, and love
sacrificially. As awful as this has been, I have had some of the most raw and earnest moments with
Amanda, our family, and our friends. Your support has been the strength that we have been leaning on.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you; because of you we can rebuild our life.
-with sincerity and humility,
Brett, Amanda, and Jett