YYC Flood: A Calgary Love Story
Our love story started 5 years ago while Calgary was going through one of the worst floods the city had ever seen. Many office buildings in the downtown core were closed which provided Yvonne the opportunity to volunteer in one of the harder hit communities, Mission (SW Calgary). Little did she know she was soon to meet her future husband.
Yvonne’s day started by walking down the streets and asking if anyone needed any help. The first group of people stated they were okay for help but said the apartment building on the corner was desperate for help so she headed that way. She walked up to the building and saw people carrying muddy rubble to the curb, so she rolled up her sleeves and joined in. Many hours quickly passed and she was astonished at how large these curb-side piles were getting, some 7 feet high by 10 feet long. Yvonne recalls standing back and taking in the view like it was a scene from The Walking Dead (a post-apocalyptic T.V. series).
Meanwhile, two streets over from where Yvonne was working, Owen’s day was very similar. The main difference was that Owen actually lived in the community and he was accepting help from total strangers and volunteers. The house Owen lived in had upwards of 10,000 gallons of water in the basement and was inhabitable.
The day was coming to an end and Yvonne started to make her way down the street towards her vehicle when she was flagged down by a group of people. They were socializing on the front lawn of a house and celebrating the fact that they had finished gutting out the basement and had it loaded into city dump trucks. Yvonne was handed a beer and they shared various flood stories, including Owen’s. Both damp and covered in mud, conversations continued to flow and they ended up exchanging numbers. Owen was smitten and it was love at first sight. A date to the mountains, a date at a coffee shop, a date to Costco and a date watching the Stampeded fireworks (and many other hangouts) gave them confidence that their relationship was the real deal. A year or so after the flood Yvonne and Owen had the opportunity to move-in together into the very house that was flooded. The basement suite was completely renovated and they made it their first little home together.
Fast forward to Christmas of 2015, the couple was coming home from a friend’s dinner when Owen stopped Yvonne out front of their house, the same spot they met for the very first time. Owen got down on one knee and asked Yvonne to be his wife. It was the easiest decision they ever made. The couple got married on September 10, 2016 here in Calgary in front of their friends and family. They just recently moved out of Mission and are living their happily ever after!
Thank you for taking the time to read our #Floodlove story! Although the flood was potentially the worst time for many people, it was the best thing to ever happen for us. The flood proved to us that beautiful things can come out of the messiest situations. Even though we are no longer living in Mission we frequent the community often. Please follow Owen on Instagram at @yycbagpiper and if you see us in the area be sure to say hi!
XOXO –Owen & Yvonne
