Shining Moments – September 2018 Week 2

Hello everyone! First thing: We are safe from Hurricane Florence *whew*. Hurricanes can be scary things even with all of the protection of property, evacuations and storm radar/forecasting. All of the preparedness was ready to go however if we had to.

So it’s that time again for Shining Moments, a weekly gratitude overview and reflection. This week’s reflection is about Preparedness and the Simple Things.

 

This week’s Gratitude list:

Even though my Dad got into a really bad wreck, not a SINGLE scratch, mark or bruise on him. #FinalDestinationStyle

 

 

 

 

Aunt’s birthday party was SO cute (steampunk tea party)

Firepits

 

 

 

 

We didn’t get hit by Hurricane Florence (not that I would wish that on anyone EVER!!!) – we only got a little bit of wind and itty bit of rain

Having supplies from past year floods/hurricanes/ice storm

Being smart to pick up what little supplies needed BEFORE everyone started to panic and before both the state of emergency and evacuation were issued

Finding the little supplies I needed last minute (so easy to forget things!)

Thankful for local businesses and chains being open despite the insanity – local hardware store, Publix and Bi-Lo grocery stores were open when Walmart wasn’t

Despite what was nicknamed the “Hurrication”, it was nice having several days in a row to “relax”

Hurricane snack – yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassss!!!

Binged watched Blacklist Season 5 on Netflix (ending: HOLY FREAKING asnpaernacpwdfksdj!!!!! – Totally mindblown)

Getting CookOut 2x during the Hurrication and getting a fry as big as my hand!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finding this Reba McEntire cd at Mr. K’s Bookstore (a local and AWWWWWEEEEEESSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEE used/new bookstore) – Mind you: this cd is from 98. My dad won it on a local country radio station YEARS ago and I was listening to various SirusXM channels recently and a song played. I know the original cd copy has lots of scratches, this one I got for TWO DOLLARS and it’s in PERFECT condition. (I’m still laughing at how old this is/how far technology has come – special features require Windows 95 compatible with Internet Explorer 4.0 or Mac 7.1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Reflection

This week’s reflection is about Preparedness and the Simple things.

Having a possible Category 3 or 4 Hurricane coming at you puts things into perspective. I’m a Charleston native, hurricanes are our thing. We’re used to it, heck we even have Hurricane Parties! But these are usually low keys one, not a 3 or a 4. We *luckily** haven’t had one that intense since Hurricane Hugo in 1989 (I was 1 year old!). The damage (literally physically and also emotionally) made people panic and for good reason. While storm forecasting has made IMMENSE technological advances to forecast out so many days, hurricanes are still hurricanes: a literal force to be reckoned with.

While we are used to things year after year (2015 – 1000 year flood, 2016 – Hurricane Matthew, 2017 – Hurricane Irma, 2018 – Ice storm in January and Hurricane Florence in September), do we really practice preparedness? You’re always seeing the news on TV and social media that water is bought out, canned goods are flying off the shelf, other non-perishable goods are disappearing, gas stations are out of gas, and so on. Even for us seasoned folks, something like a hurricane (along with the energy vibes of everyone else doing the same) can make you panic. For Charleston, since we’re SO used to it, we don’t take everything up front that we hear. However a few days later as the news gets worse or conditions stay about the same, you can completely feel the anxiety, see the panicked looks and notice the shelves getting barer. This year we needed a few things (like replacing batteries), so before things got worse, I bought our supplies early so that I would have them vs not having them in a few days. **Side note: yup, I was right** But even we forgot a few things or wanted to have a little more extra on hand (I was convinced we would lose power if nothing else – note: not a single minute – maaaaaybe a dimmer here or there but that was it).

Work was the same way – working on an island makes for unique challenges and for safety reasons, we shut down the island for a few days. I’ll tell you, it’s crazy and amazing to see what it takes to get a whole island prepared, safe, the supplies needed, the manpower to team up and crank it out and the precautions to take (I work with alot of computer/electronics so my part was serial numbers, equipment check, bagging and tagging, taking pictures in case of water/structure damage).

So while preparedness gets you a long way, what about the long haul? What if we had damage or had lost power? Enter the principle of simple things. Having less stuff that can be damaged is one way. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have nice things or multiple things either. What if the power goes out, the wifi is gone and you’re sitting by yourself, with your significant other or multiple people? Are you going to be ok or are we looking at a local Survivor episode? Beyond supplies, do you have non electronic stuff to do: word puzzles, board games, playing cards, coloring books, craft making, etc?

What about non-natural disasters? Recently we had a garbage truck hit power lines and there went the whole day. 6:42am – no power to homes, traffic lights to schools or to the hospital, no wifi – they had to put in new lines, new telephone pole and wifi didn’t come back til the next day. I saw electric and cable companies out til midnight trying to get everyone back to normal.

My reflection for you this week is to ask yourself/your family/your friends/your work people: are you prepared for bad storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods or other disasters? What about non-emergencies?  Are your prone to panic everytime there is a disaster? Do you know what to do in an emergency, especially those like tornados and flash floods that you might not have heads up like hurricane forecasts? There is always time to get prepared, most everyone has at least the minimum of a disaster season (Hurricanes and Tornados). Take a look, do an inventory now, know your plans/routes/etc BEFORE you’re in an emergency. Your calmness, steadfastness, and preparedness can help someone else, even if it’s simply the emotional side of not panicking.

Here’s to having a safe, non-disaster great week!