As I sit here writing this article on water damage in my life, I cannot help but to reminisce on the events that has happened in my life. If you have never been through any type of water damage then take it from me, it is not something you would like to experience in your life. Sadly, I lost my home because of a severe case of water damage - a hurricane hit where I live. To this day, telling this story brings tears to my eyes. Not only did I loose my house to the water damage that was caused by the hurricane but me and some other members of my family had to live in a shelter for months simply because I did not have any place to go.



The other members of my family were my daughter who was eight months at the time and my wife. While I was living in that shelter, all I could think about was my family. Yes, I was thankful that they were not hurt at all but I was sad because here we were living in a shelter and I could do nothing about it. Eventually, the water in my area cleared up where we could get to the house we once lived in. When we saw the condition of the house, we were astonished. Did I say house? It seems the house was no longer standing.

I still remember the day because it was the worst day of my life. As my wife and I were rummaging through the things from our house the flood had left behind, I remember her picking up a picture. The picture she picked up was a family picture that we had taken one month prior to the incident. For some reason, the picture had survived and that is the moment I knew everything would be just fine. For some reason, this was the only picture that survived. Everything else had water damage so bad that it was not even able to be picked up. As I looked at the picture, I saw a happy family that was free from all troubles. I saw a couple with love in their eyes and a child that brought extreme joy to the both of us. As I looked at that picture, I knew that I could not give up. If I gave up then I would be giving up on not only myself, but also I would be giving up on my family.

That picture only made me want to succeed even more. I wanted to go back to that moment in that picture but I knew it was not possible so I decided to build more moments like the one that was in that picture. As I am typing this out, I am starring at that very picture that is hanging on my wall in the center of my house. Carved in the picture frame is "A Family Who Will Get through Anything." I had this carved in the picture for my wife as a gift after our new house was built. On my other wall are more great pictures that were taken in our new house. We have successfully recovered from the water damage that was done from our old house and have built a new house, in a new state. If there is anything that I have learned from this water damage, it is to never give up, no matter how hard things may seem, no matter what the situation is because good things can come out of it. Last thing I want to tell you is that this new house is not only built out of wood, but it is built out of love - for my family.