Glad you made through and I believe your kids will be better off for it. They made it through a big ordeal.
A friend of mine from ND, now lives somewhere in NYC kept his hip waders even though he no longer hunts and his New Yorker wife made fun of them. He has been using them for the last few days while helping in his neighborhood.
I do hope your friend is holding up safe and sound now, Doc.
Regards,
PS: Yup, I agree that my boys will be better off for it. Just the other day my oldest said, “I have a new respect for Laura Ingalls.” I bet he does.