I Burst Like The Teton Dam

I Burst Like The Teton Dam!

Christy Lee

One night when my children were small, we were going through our usual bedtime ritual. It had been an exciting week during which the Teton Dam had broken and flooded the valley near our home.

My children had helped me fill the tub with water in case our water supply was contaminated by the flood. We had spent the day gathering emergency supplies and watching the news reports, wondering if we would be one of the unfortunate families to be flooded out of our home when the flood waters arrived in our town. Fortunately, we were not touched. However, it was difficult to get the children to settle down for bedtime that night.

We were trying to assuage their fears and convince them that they would be safe in their beds, despite the frightening events of that day. The excitement of the day had worn us all out so the children eventually settled into bed, despite the day's excitement..

"Don't let the bed bugs bite!" I called out as I turned out the lights and gently closed the doors to the bedrooms. This was our normal sign off at the end of each day and signaled lights out and no talking.

The next morning our five year old came running hysterically down the hall and into our bedroom. "I've burst like the Teton Dam!" she reported as she turned and headed back down the hall to view her soggy bedding. As she darted excitedly back into her room, I heard her announce loudly, "I hope the bed bugs didn't drown!"

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