The Weather....and my random thoughts...

I just finished pulling in our pots and my daughter's toys that were in the backyard.  The weather today is pretty {yucky} and although there is no hurricane around the winds are still pretty strong.  It reminded me of a few years back when we did get hit by a hurricane and we did sit in our little apartment for a week without power and looking at those cans of tuna trying to figure out how to "cook" a new recipe along with the vienna sausages we had.

Going through the experience of a hurricane is pretty intense.  In my case, I was actually attending school in Tampa and the hurricane was due to "land" in Tampa.  My husband told me to get a hotel room and honker down...but I drove like a maniac after my last class and made it back to Fort Lauderdale (yup...I was commuting 4 hours to attend school).  Turns out the hurricane changed paths and landed in Fort Lauderdale...I watched the news until the power went out and there was the eye of the storm which looked to be pointed right over my apartment.

I had panicked and had asked my husband to go to the grocery store on his way home but went ahead and went myself as well.  Although it looked like we had enough supplies I ventured out one more time but the only stores open were gas station stores.  We had a neighbor that was busy taking care of putting up the hurricane shutters because management refused to.  It turns out that after they had passed inspection they simply through all of the hurricane panels in a pile and then allotted them to the different apts...most apartments did not have the appropriate panels and we did not know until it was too late.  Our particular apartment was a panel short. I ran out to purchase supplies for this neighbor who I had never met until this point...he was the only one with a ladder because again management said it was a liability to lend ladders out.  He had gone to his job site and took it upon himself to help.  I took it upon myself to make sure he had supplies like Gatorade and the amazing cans of tuna...

After the storm, there was such a peace and quiet and destruction.  It was surreal.  The apartment next to us with windows blown out while ours was in one piece....I remember the panic of everyone in the grocery stores and the lines at the gas stations afterwards.  I took things in stride but now that I have a little girl who is depending on me to keep her safe I am looking at my hurricane plans.  Do I have enough for her if the tropical storms turn into a hurricane?  The thought of going grocery shopping with very anxious people after a storm is announced is not something I want to do with a 3 year old....and how do I explain locking up my house with the hurricane shutters....she is going through a phase in which she is so scared of the dark and sleeps with a flash light and night light. 

I KNOW how lucky I am to have a roof over my child's head and the ability to worry about what types of food to purchase for her in case of a hurricane rather then what will I feed my child tonight...but it does not make my concerns any less for her and this darn weather we are having....any thoughts...any tips??