Tuesday, March 16, PM: 2 inches of water in the basement. Ho hum, that’s life living on the Charles River. Squirrels spotted swimming around swing set in backyard.

Wednesday March 17, AM: 2 feet of water in the basement. Uh-oh. … Two electric sump pumps doing their thing but no match vs. water incoming from all sides of the stone basement foundation…. Head to Natick Outdoor store for some hip hugging boots. Don’t have any. Head to Dick’s on Rte. 9: success. Extremely fashionable. Return to lug dozens of plastic bins containing Christmas decorations, art supplies etc upstairs and into garage. … In honor of St. Patty’s day, the art supplies coincidentally turn the basement water green… Fortunately nothing too fancy down there…. Erect “No Wake” sign and put on tree stump rising above water and facing the street (top photo)….. Our raised gardens really got raised by the water…Detour saw horses erected on street by town….. Kids enjoying the scene, floating around street and back yard in kayaks and snow tubes, reminds us of scenes from nightly newscasts over the years from the banks of the Mississippi, the Red River, etc. …. See insane people kayaking down the river…. Witness both flotsam and jetsam, but fortunately our barrel-shaped composter is not among it.

Wednesday PM: Neighborly landscaper and excavator save our house by offering up a gas-powered pump that shoots out 300 gallons of water per minute. We needed it…. Though lose furnace pilot light and cranky NStar guy pays a visit that night to fix things…. Can’t sleep because the pump is so loud and like a baby, needs to be fed every few hours.

Thursday March 18, AM: Our home is technically an island, completely surrounded by water. Street filled with water, cars can’t pass…. Even the mailman bails, delivering stuff the next day marked “Street Flooded.” … Take an early morning trip to Wellesley dump to get rid of 6-7 bags of wet junk…. Dad swings by to try his magic cement, but it’s no match for water pressure. Leaves us with a couple of fans and a dry-wet vac…. Heartless Canada geese use our few non-submerged patches of yard for their bathroom….Red Cross visits the area, taking only notes, not giving out any sandwiches… Water starts to recede late in day.

Friday, March 19: Another nice day, water continues receding…finally get to turn off the gas-powered pump… Feeling lucky compared to people who had finished basements washed away.

Saturday, March 20: Neighborhood party in the “deep end.” Everyone shares their war stories. Lots of inspiring tales of neighbors going all out to aid the clueless and helpless among us.

Sunday, March 21: Start to fret about wet weather forecast for this week…