Preparation

I used to be so good about hurricane preparation. At the begining of the season I would go out with my list and make sure the hurricane kit was thoroughly stocked. I would calculate gallons per person per day of bottled water and collect everything safely in a watertight containers stored safely through the rest of the season. Then at the end of every season I would unpack everything and breathe a sigh of relief that we never had to use it. Then we had the two straight years of ridiculous hurricane activity. It was all we could do to try to recover from one storm before the next was charging at us. We were all so good at plywood and generators that it almost seemed normal. Almost.
Then there was the calm after the storms. All that was left were the consequences. Skyrocketing insurance, plummeting home values, yearlong waits for contractors. We learned how to repair drywall, seal stucco and replace shingles. It was our new normal.
And then of course we forgot. Two more years of calm and the memories were fuzzy. Now out of nowhere looms Fay. The memories began to bubble to the surface as I walked through the aisles of the grocery store this morning. It all seemed so familiar: bottled water and canned pasta, dry cereal and peanut butter, batteries and trash bags, bleach and band aids.
The storm doesn't look big, even the worst predictions only show it as a 1, but even a 1 can close schools if it hits at the wrong time. Monday is the first day of school, and that should still be OK, but Tuesday isn't looking so good. I will be happy as long as everything is OK again by Thursday. Sydney starts kindergarten on Thursday, and if I told her it was canceled, the tears would begin to flow. Then she would calmly explain how she waited so long for her first day, and it's not fair that she has to have another home day. I know exactly how the script goes, because Anna's first day of kindergarten was also canceled for a hurricane. Wish us luck and timing!