And this is why...

...we own so many towels.

Last week we had a ridiculous rainstorm, which resulted in local flooding. I was awakened in the wee hours of the morning by rain pounding against our bedroom windows (which are actually serving as our headboard, until my son finishes using his convertible crib/toddler bed). There was some thunder, but really most of the noise was the rain driving against our house from all directions. I comforted my daughter, who was also awoken by the rain, and checked the kids' room window, which leaks (another story for another day), to make sure there were no puddles forming, and all was well. I went back to bed.

A few hours later, I went down to the basement to feed the critters and see if there was any water, since it's been known to find its way in before, in small quantities. There were, disturbingly, what I will call "large puddles." Large puddles, and small streams, since the water comes in at the back of the house and then flows to low points in the very-uneven floor.

The last time we had water in the basement, I whipped out two bath towels and soaked it up, 1-2-3. This time, there was significantly more water. I sent my daughter (who is always eager to help) to get some towels. She came back with two. I started on one puddle and wondered if towels were really going to do the trick. I sent her back for more, anyhow. Meanwhile, my husband stared at the walls and muttered inanities like "I think it's coming in from here" or "I don't know where it's coming from" or "It rained a lot last night", with a smattering of helpful suggestions like, "use the shop vac to pick it up." He then went to go take his shower and left for work.

While the shop vac helped with the largest puddle, we apparently only have one power outlet in the basement, and the limited mobility made it of limited use. So the daughter and I emptied the entire linen closet. The wet towels went to the washer, where I just did a rinse and spin (why doesn't it just have a spin feature??) before sending them to the dryer for immediate reuse.

I didn't bother counting, but we have in the neighborhood of 18 bath towels and 2 beach towels, for a 4-person household that almost never has overnight guests. And my husband has frequently questioned the quantity of towels, to which I answer along the lines of "you can't have too many towels."

And I am right, of course. And now it's proven.