If you can read this, you must have power…

Last updated on: October 29, 2012 at 9:24 am by Mary Alice

If you can read this, you must have power… 2012-10-29T09:24:57-06:00 Mary Alice

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The 4 builders on the East Coast are hunkered down for Hurricane Sandy. We have been sharing preparation tips, many gleaned from the previous experience of our Texas builders, and more recently from our own experience with Irene.

Where I live, in Central New Jersey, the roads are closed, so we are to “shelter in place.” We went out before the storm and bought lots of convenience foods. We will be able to use our stove even in the power goes out, but I think that we will want to keep things pretty simple. We also have water on hand. My husband bought two large sports jugs so that we could store water. The local government recommends 3 gallons of water per person as a 3 day emergency supply. In my house, not counting the baby, that would be 24 gallons of water.

I have convinced my husband, a total news hound, to turn off the TV and use this time as a gift to be present to our children. His office is closed. We are doing puzzles, playing games, baking cookies (while we still have power), drawing and doing crafts. All of the things that get put off until “another time.”

We cleaned out our basement, which is prone to flooding, but the higher energy kids are now using it as an indoor skate park. Mary taught John to rollerblade.

I am sure that some of our friends will be impacted in more serious ways than just the inconvenience of cancelled appointments, so I am praying for your safety. I pray particularly for the Catskill region which was devestated by Hurricane Irene a year ago. It looks like the storm might turn in just the right way to spare them, which would be a mercy indeed.

A few practical tips you can do now even if you can’t leave the house (feel free to add your own in the comments):

–make a large pot of coffee that you can drink throughout the week if you lose power. Don’t drink it all now and make yourself nuts 🙂

–let your children know that they are safe, and fill them in on the plan. some of my children need to know where the flashlight is when they go to bed, just in case we lose power. Telling them that it is always dark in their room anyway doesn’t help. For anxiety prone children (or adults), limit news. You know what you need to know about conditions in your area, knowing that the boardwalk has been washed away in some beach town in North Carolina is not helpful to your family.

–fill a bath tub with water that you can use to fill the toilet tank in case your area loses water. If you have crawlers or toddlers be very careful that they cannot access this bathroom

— do your laundry, it is something to do, and if you lose power for a few days you will be glad that you were on top of the laundry when it started

Holy Mary Our Hope, Pray for Us!

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