Joshua fit the battle of the NICU Part 1

Here is the first part of a very long story that is continuing to this day. Let me explain. No, there is too much, let me sum up...

Friday, March 4th; All day I had been having a really hard time. My emotions were totally going crazy and I was so ready to just give up on the store and call people bad names and go home and cry. Adam had a really hard day as well. Then when we got home there was an email waiting for us from Lodema. She expressed some concerns and asked a few questions and in general called us on not being as involved as we had said we would be. Adam wrote back that we had decided to sign over or share of the company. We just were not able to put in the time and effort that was needed to be good partners. We have both been just struggling with our own life and we had talked frequently about the option of ducking out. Previously we had felt that it was important for us to stay, but this time we got the okay. The whole weekend we waited to hear back from Todd and Lodema. It was a little worrying that they didn't contact us, but we figured they were doing as much thinking and pondering as we had needed to do. We tried to just relax as much as we could that weekend.

March 7th-9th; I got up and ready for the day not knowing what to expect when I got to the store. I showed up and there was a little standing water on the floor in the back room. I figured that it was just left over from the rain on Sunday because when I mopped it up that was it. I called Adam and texted Lodema. She gave me the number for the landlord and I gave him a call. I told him that there was water but that it was under control for the time being. Lodema then came over to help with any cleanup that was needed, and to do a few things on the company computer. She asked if what Adam had put in the email was still what we wanted to do. I said yes. We needed to duck out. She was so understanding that I almost cried. She said that she and Todd had worked out a way to take over our share of the debt and to eventually pay back what we had personally put into the store. It was better then we had hoped. We just wanted to not have the debt in our name anymore. We had quite given up on the personal investments.
Then, of course, it started raining again and water started coming in under the walls. We tried to clean up as much as we could and we tried to call the landlord again, but he wouldn't answer. I left Lodema and one of our employees, Holly, trying to manage things.

I came into the store the next day only to find that there was at least an inch of standing water above the carpet in the back dressing room and the rear end of the sales floor. I tried to mop it up but it was no use since the water was still coming in.

Then of all the lovely things, Adam called to tell me that Hit Web Design had closed. At first I thought he meant for the day but then I realized as he continued to explain what happened that it was closed for good and we were out of a job. I tried to help Adam see that this could be okay (since it had been a while since he had been paid and so it was as if he hadn't had a job for the past three months) and at the same time be understanding of what he must be feeling right then, but it was hard for me to feel anything but happy. It meant that he would be home more and that he would be able to work on his school work and that he might find a better job. Also, I was hoping that he would come up to the store with me more often.

Then Lodema and I did what we could with the water and finally talked to the land lord. Well he was less then helpful. Eventually, Adam and Todd were there and there were some words exchanged (and by that I mean the land lord cussed Todd out and there was lots of yelling). Evedentlly it was our job to stand in the unit next door and stop the water coming in to our unit (according to the land lord). Needles to say, we hadn't done that. We all went home feeling angry, tired, and unsure what to do next.

We had Adam's dad come out and take a look at the damage and tell us what he thought we should do. We noted and took pictures and video of all the damage and when it happened. It was all we could do at that point.

To be continued...