A recent post by Lynne had me searching for this old photo. I knew I had it somewhere. I thought the dolls in her post were the same as some I had before the mudslide, but I was wrong. Still, I love the picture, and my big brother, and the dolls, so I am posting it anyways for my own easy access. The green shag carpet really takes me back. It's kind of a trip to look at the carpet and the walls and the dolls and to think that within a few LONG hours in May of 1983 all of those things were taken away. What a crazy life experience to have been through. I was so young, only 7, I had no idea what was happening, but for my parents... I can't even imagine how hard that must have been to have to start over from scratch, with basically nothing but the clothes on our back. I don't think we even had shoes on our feet. I remember some of Grandma's neighbors bringing us boxes of clothes and toys. I got one of my favorite T shirts ever from one of those boxes of donations. It was blue with a sparkly dog and a rainbow on it. I wore it all the time. I remember watching the disaster unfold on the news, in one shot our home was still there, in the next... it was gone. I remember going to stay in Rexburg for a few weeks while my parents tried to dig out anything they could save and find us a place to live. I can still smell that awful smell of mud, I can still hear the crackling of the trees up the canyon before the slide made it down to our neighborhood, I still think of that day everytime I hear the sound of fire engines. I totally did not intend for this post to go here, but I guess the picture just brought back a lot of memories that I had not thought about for quite sometime. Thanks Mom and Dad for making it through this unbelievable experience. It's one of those "it would never happen to me" things that ends up happening to you. I can see now that this was the beginning of a new life for us. I think it gave my parents a new outlook on life and a whole new reason to work hard and make things happen for thier family.
After the mudslide someone was selling T shirts that said "I Survived the Rudd Mud Flood" now I sort of wish I had one.
I just found a picture of that shirt I loved so much...
8 comments:
I love this picture. You and Jake are so adorable. Funny how little things trigger other feelings and emotions that just start to flow. I love how this blogging brings back such random memories.
Okay, first thing: you look just like Rachel in that last photo. I totally thought it was her wearing your shirt....second, the picture of you and Jake is sooooo great, so classic. I mean, Jake with an Andy doll?
And, wow, the mudslide memories. Can you believe what both of our parents went through as YOUNG parents? My mom and Dad lost their house in the Teton flood before I was born. Wow. We don't realize how good we have it.
Here's to our mom's and dad's!!!
I have to admit, I do love that picture of me and Jake. I just think Jake was the cutest kid ever.
Not only were our parents "young parents" they were just plain YOUNG. That was 24 years ago, you do the math. Imagine having everything taken away with no notice. And I do think it's crazy that it happend to both of our parents. What are the odds?
This brings me back to my moms last post. We should be thankful for what we have. Material possesions are replaceable, time is not. Be happy for the things you have and make lots of good memories in the meantime. That is the one thing I do have from that house is TONS of memories. I grew up playing in Rudd Canyon as my back yard and Farmington Canyon was our playground. I couldn't have asked for a more adventuresome childhood. It was great.
So true Suz! Kids these days just aren't coming up like we were. When we used to be bored at my aunt Debbie's house, she would send us down to the river behind their house with an empty baggie and tell us to collect as much cool stuff as we could, and count how many moose we encountered. I mean, when my kids are bored, I'm like, do you want to color again? Watch some more cartoons? Go play in the road?
Where do you com up with these pictures?
They are all out of my old photo albums. I have always had an obsession with keeping my photos in cronological order in albums. Well, that is until I started this blog. I do feel a little bit like I am neglecting my albums now. Maybe I will do both, but when would I ever find the time? Plus, blogging is so much cheaper!!! :)
i love this! i have poured through your albums so many times and so i recognize these pics. look at viewmont in the background and grandma's car port. ohhhhhh. nostalgia!
Lots to remember back then. I remember vividly the two floods so close together. I was pregnant with Rachel when our home went down the river. A few years later your went down the road. We both had our turns at being homeless. You just never know. I remember how cute you kids were. I remember Susan always had the reddest cheeks. And your hair kind of poked up all over as a toddler...so cute. Would we have ever shared all of these things without our blogger buddy?
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