I hate weather people. I honestly think they are wrong more times then they are right, and they have a tendency to cause panic to the masses when they predict the storm of the century only to have nothing happen. You know what I am talking about. They say 2 feet of snow so we all rush to the store to stock up only to have it snow barely an inch. That’s how I feel Hurricane Sandy is going to be. Maybe I will be wrong, but I hate to get my panties all up in a bunch for nothing. But all the hoopla got to me this time around and I found myself at the grocery store yesterday. As I pulled into the parking lot FILLED with cars….navigated the store FILLED with people I had a one sided conversation with my son. I told him that if it wasn’t for him I would never be in the store, and now that I have him I would do everything in my power to keep him safe, and if that means panicking and preparing like the masses then so be it. Because little man….Every little thing…is gonna be alright (think Bob Marley).
I feel lucky to live in the North East because I feel like there aren’t many natural disasters that can be life threatening. Yes we have some bad storms, but rarely do we find ourselves in a position where we fear our lives. I can find sustenance and water if I need it, and if we lose power I can bare the cold and darkness. But I don’t think my child can. If it was before I would just hope for the best, but this time I felt like I had to prepare.
I needed food that could be easily cooked if our power went out, and I needed everything washed so he could have clean clothes if we went with out power. I got milk that didn’t need to be refrigerated and I have food that can be cooked if we physically lit our gas stove. This time I planned ahead.
When it comes to being a mom I had no choice but to think ahead no matter how much my gut told me we’d be fine if I didn’t. There was a voice in my head that kept saying…”but what if this time you are wrong?” (I am pretty sure the voice was my mom’s but I can’t be sure…). If it’s really a life and death situation like they are saying I don’t have the luxury to be wrong, and the only negative I could see in being prepared was dealing with all the other crazies out there that are thinking the same thing.
I now see the mass of people differently at the grocery store. I have a feeling many of them are parents who just want their families to be safe. The only control we have in a storm is how we prepare our homes on the inside. The outside is up to God, and even though what happens to us inside probably is too I think we all just want to do what we can to beat the odds.
So stay safe everyone. Let’s hope this storm isn’t as bad as they say it’s going to be and everyone out there who is in a bad spot was able to prepare as much as they can to keep themselves safe. I hope I did enough to keep my family safe. Fingers crossed right?
Yeah-as I ‘prepared’ for this storm (in quotes because I didn’t really do much) I thought about how different it would be if I cared about anyone other than myself. But I don’t. So my big pile of books and can of ez-cheese will get me through.
Best of luck to you and your family! Stay safe!