10 Tips For a Not-So-Typical Disaster…

38IP328-Hurricane Ike

A few years ago, my daughter and I found ourselves on a downhill road in a car with no brakes. Another driver recognized that we were in big trouble and pulled in front of us and was willing to let our car nudge into his to stop us before we crashed. How did he know to do that?

As we waited for a tow truck, he casually said, “You know, I read about ‘How to stop a runaway car’ in the Worst Case Scenario book…just yesterday.”

Today’s post is kinda like that. A bit of info that you hope you will never need, but will appreciate if you ever do.

My daughter Jillian has a friend that just recently moved to Galveston, Texas.  September 13, literally days after arriving and settling into her new basement apartment–the Galveston Storm “Ike” hit their area. She like hundreds of others, lost everything.

Three weeks later, another friend blogged about the ordeal and offered some valuable insight to anyone in an emergency situation like this. Here are some of her thoughts…

Monday October 7, 2008

There are still people without power. I can’t even imagine.

What was I glad I had in my 72 hour kit? What did I wish I had?

* I wished I had a method of cooking food. Maybe a camping stove or BBQ grill.

* Ready to eat foods. For example: nutrigrain bars, granola bars, cans of slim fast or V8, prepacked albacore that is ready to eat, canned fruit/veggies, protein bars, crackers. Cans of soup you could stand to eat cold.

* Comfort food. Some Oreos, a bag of chocolate chips or fruit snacks.

* Two weeks worth of all medicine you are taking. Most stores are out of EVERYTHING.

* I would have given my right arm for a battery operated fan. Just a little one. It was just so hot.

* Ice- Fill a couple of 2 liter bottles with water and put them in the freezer. Ice was a hot commodity.

*Photos and documents? Pay to have them digitized. Paper wouldn’t survive this.

*I packed formula, diapers, wipes and clothes for the baby. I forgot bottles.

*Bathroom stuff

*Car charger for your cell phone.

Be careful. Be prudent. Be wise. Be safe.

Just my two cents–for what it’s worth.

Saving for a rainy day…

We’ve got this incredible view from my window, and a huge box of golden delicious apples…

This season has a strange effect on me. It is my favorite time of year–by far, but there’s this ferocious maternal thing that happens. It presents itself in the form of an overwhelming need to freeze, can or dry whatever will stay still long enough to get it safely into a bag or jar and squeeze it shut. The cats are looking at me funny. Even though I have baby hats to make, mending to do, files to sort, and rooms to clean, those things will have to wait a bit, until I get past this need to squirrel away all the nuts and berries for winter.

I remember hearing a wise man once say, “leave no jar unfilled.” Even though at the time, I was surrounded by plenty, the impact of his advice has stayed with me. Perhaps he knew that a lot of moms get great comfort from the rainbow of bottles lining her shelves. It’s hard to describe the feeling of seeing the counter filled, with rows and rows of grape juice, jam, peaches, spaghetti sauce, jelly and applesauce. Or bags of dried pears, plums and tomatoes packed in a plastic tub. It’s kinda like sitting in a rocker in front of the fire with a cup of steaming hot cocoa, knowing the kids are all tucked away in their  beds. It’s that kind of feeling…

“…all is safely gathered in…” for that rainy day, that may come tomorrow, or maybe next week.

When it does, you’re welcome at our place. We have plenty of applesauce…

and we love the rain.