Carport Crunch

This past Friday I went home for lunch, as is typical. Drove up in the driveway, under the carport and pushed the button to close the carport garage door. It's typical for me to go home for lunch, gives me a moment away from the office to enjoy. I went inside, made a turkey sandwich and watched a couple minutes of the news. It was raining and thundering like crazy outside. I called Greg, to make sure he was safe and to warn him not to take a certain route in order to avoid the flooded streets.

After looking at my watch, I figured I had a few minutes more before I had to head back to the office and logged on to my computer. It was then that I heard a horrible, horrible sound. I thought it was a rumbling thunder that seemed to last too long and was too metallic. I went to the side door, looked outside.... and I'm sure my mouth dropped.

First phone call was to Dad...

Me: "Dad.... I'm not going to be able to go back to the office. I have a SERIOUS problem."

Dad: "What's the problem?"

Me: "The carport crashed in and trapped my vehicle inside."

Dad: "You'r shitting me! What do you mean it crashed in?!"

Me: "I mean, it's on top of my car! I have to call Greg and make sure he doesn't try to open the garage door."

When I called Greg, he thought it was merely that a panel had blown off of the carport, which is what the construction guy thought too after Greg called him. Then, when Greg came in and saw the destruction, he asked, "Was there a tornado?"

I have no idea. All I know is what I heard and what I saw in the aftermath. It sucks. Really does. Just when I think things are looking up.... BAM .... Life happens.

The phone calls started from there. Everyone calling to ask what happened, calls to the insurance guy and calls to our electrician. (Because the Air Conditioner fan was hooked up to the same panel as the garage door motor. That panel tripped because of the destruction and rain, which is what it was supposed to do. We needed AC and our electrician was at our home within 15 minutes.)

Greg told me that he was really shocked with how well I was handling this. I think I was in shock and after that, I counted blessings to stop myself from crying, such as:

1) I wasn't in the car when it happened, because I would be a basket case right now or in the hospital.

2) The garage door was down, so the damage on my car at least didn't have the garage door on top of it too.

3) Greg wasn't home. If his vehicle was parked it would have taken the brunt of the carport crash, considering the carport slammed all the way to the cement slab.

4) It could have been Much, Much more physical damage to my car. It has body damage, will need a new door frame on the back passenger's side, new window, new passenger side mirror and paint job. But the car still runs. It might be a 2003, but it only has 54,000 miles and I kept it in good condition, so yes, I want it repaired. The motor wasn't damaged and it's still drivable.

5) The electrician could have said he couldn't come out and then we would have slept in heat and upset.

6) The home owners insurance was very kind and not ugly and gave me a claim number and phone number for the adjustor. (I've dealt with very hostile, nasty insurance people before - with a different company that I used to have after Katrina, so it was a real blessing to have someone nice on the phone with this company.)

7) The adjustor came out that afternoon to take pictures and start the claim.

8) After we heard more and more metal noises at night, we knew the rest of the carport that was leaning on my car might come down and do more damage if we waited until Monday to get the demolition crew out - we called the construction guy and he was able to schedule the demolition crew for Saturday.

9) I have a claim filed on the car insurance and an appointment for Tuesday to bring it in for estimates.

10) The carport didn't crash into the side of the house and do damage to the house... my car was the buffer.

11) The house did not catch on fire and nobody got hurt.

12) Dad lent me a car to drive in the meantime.

There's a lot worse that could have happened. It doesn't make it any less of a pain to deal with... Now it's a hassle with insurance companies, paying deductables and trying to get life back to normal. I think I'm still a little shocked and yeah, it's depressing if I think about it too much. I'm not crying outwardly yet I want to yell. It's a strange feeling.

When Greg told his mom about the carport and sent her pictures, she wrote back, "You don't lead a boring life!" I don't mind boring, really!!

When Dad called Rob and Roda and told them about the carport, Dad said, "Well, Roda, you have to take second place to garage damage now." (To which Greg joked, "What is it about Grimball women and garages?") In my defense, this was Mother Nature and not something I did.

Right now, I'm mentally exhausted and I want things back to normal. I'm handling it and getting the paperwork done, now get fixed already! (Patience, not one of my strong points.)