I Look at Life Differently Now

This morning, I took #4 with me on a walk.  We walked straight up the hill from our home--just for exercise sake.

As we walked down the street, it was apparent that a pipe had broken under the street.  It was blocked off with cones, so clearly the water district was aware, and on our way home, the men were there to take care of the problem.  The water was cascading down into the grate, but it was coming up through the cracks in the street.

As we walked, the cracks in the street became more apparent to me than ever before.

When I picked up the middle schoolers for the carpool this morning, we drove past the problem area again.  #4 brought up our conversation about the cracks in the road.  He brought up the idea that if there were an earthquake, the road might fall in.

It became clear to me, this morning, that I don't look at life the same as I did before this past summer.  I'm not paranoid.  I'm just a bit more observant of things that could be challenges and a bit more proactive to do what I can to solve potential problems my family could experience if there were some kind of natural disaster.  The Japanese tsunami has helped me understand that some things are just unavoidable.  The thing that is avoidable is a portion of the suffering that could take place after one. 

As the anniversary of the Japanese tsunami approaches, here is a very short list of some things that can be done to prepare.

Some of the things we've done are:

•  to make sure we have our 72-hour kits all ready and up to date and accessible in case of an emergency.  We rotate the food annually.  Actually, my sister-in-law's ward, when they have their Super Saturday, provide the food for 72-hour kits for anyone who want it for a low price.  I believe we paid $5 per person last year.  We bought ours from her ward for the last two years.  We rotated the food as soon as we got it.  Wonderful!
• to discuss a meeting place.  A location that everyone is familiar with and is easily accessible by everyone in case of a disaster.  So, if kids are at school, the Warden's at work and I'm at home, we all know where we're going to meet up.
• to make sure that we have an out-of-the-area contact, so that if communications are down, we can all check in with that family member.  The schools our kids go to know that number, but I'm just realizing that my kids don't know that number.  That'll be our next thing--to teach them their uncle's phone number.
• to have a will, or in our case a family trust, set up so there is nothing left to wonder if something were to happen to the Warden or me.
• to have part of our grocery budget go to food that can be stored and eaten in emergency situations.  Water needs to be stored as well.  I now do this monthly.

So, there you have it.  Just a few things that could make life easier in the event of an emergency.  There are so many great sites for this kind of thing online.  The real trick is to not get panicked but to be sensible and moderate while preparing for something that you don't know when, or even if, it will ever happen.