Preparing for a Hurricane

Well, as i'm sure most of the world knows, the East Coast is bracing for Hurricane Irene. (And in fact, she's already landed in North Carolina.)

In our house, we've spend the last few days glued to the news, keeping track of where this storm is headed, how it's going to affect us, and when it's set to arrive. Ok, full disclosure. I don't actually watch the news. I follow the local meterologist on Facebook, and get all my info from him. My husband rolled his eyes at me yesterday when I told him there was no need to turn on the TV, since I already have all the information. He then proceeded to turn it on and stare at the weather for an hour. To my surprise, all the hurricane graphics completely entertained Stephanie with their flashy lights and pretty colors. Huh. Wish I had given that a thought earlier in the week. Anyway.

On Thursday, Stephanie and I went to the drugstore and grocery store to stock up on supplies. CVS was out of D batteries, but we got some boxes of cereal, and facial moisturizer (don't want to run out of THAT during a hurricane, right?) At the grocery, we picked up bananas (because they don't need to be refridgerated), applesauce cups (ditto), ice-cream (because if the power goes out, i'll have an excuse to eat the whole carton), water, and bread. Again, no D batteries to be found.

Yesterday we went shopping as a family, since Dan's work cancelled training for the weekend. (That doesn't mean he gets out of work, just the people he's supposed to be training. But his schedule is a little more flexible, so he was able to go with us.) We picked up more food (soup, raisins, snacks), milk, and another loaf of bread. We then proceeded to check 5 stores for D batteries. No luck. Clearly, I should have had the foresight to stock up earlier.

Today I made my "last-minute prep" list. Tonight i'll gather all the flashlights, candles, matches, and non-perishable food to keep all together in one place. Dan will bring in all the outside stuff from our patio, and empty the garbages and recycling. (I don't want them stinking up the apartment, since the AC's will go off if we lose electricity, and it will get hot in here!) I also want to keep our cell phones plugged in until we actually lose power, that way they'll be fully charged for as long as possible. I also took Stephanie out for one last shopping trip, to get the MOST IMPORTANT things.

Those, of course, were snickers bars (can you imagine being stuck inside during a hurricane with no chocolate??) and one last Dunkin Donuts coffee. If we lose power, and can't get around for a few days due to fallen trees, I wanted to make sure I got in a Dunkin fix. I already want another one. Sigh. OH, and I also found D batteries! Completely unexpected. I went to the tiniest little CVS, which happens to be the closest one to us. (It's so tiny, there isn't even a pharmacy in it.) I checked the aisle, but the D's were completely cleared out. But, while I was in line to purchase the snickers, there was a case of them with four packages left! Score. I felt like that was a major accomplishment.

Now that the essentials are taken care of, we can sit back, relax, and wait for the storm to hit. If it even comes. We're famous around here for panicking, filling the stores to load up on bread, water, and milk, and then having the storm fizzle out. Lets see what happens!

Tweet