Wind, water and falling leaves

We’ve got weather! So far things are ok. We made it through the night without any trees falling near our townhouse and we still have power, unlike some others in the area. However, that was merely Storm One. Storm Two is supposed to hit tomorrow and it could get freaky wild and windy. So, keep your fingers crossed for us. All I know is that I don’t want to be out there in it.

Lucky for me the dogs agree. They have no desire to take a walk. I can hardly even get them to go out in our little yard. I had to force them out there to pee a few minutes ago. They’re cattle dogs, folks. You know, dogs bred to be out in the elements herding cows. In Britain. You’d think a little rain wouldn’t even faze them. But, you’d be wrong. When I told Watson to go out there he looked at me with his ears drooping back flat against his head. He slowly crept toward the grass, turning back towards me several times, is this far enough? He finally accepted the inevitable and did what I sent him out there to do.

The cat, on the other hand, is interested in exploring the covered patio every time I open the door for the dogs to go out. Obviously he has no plans to wander close enough to the overhang to actually get wet. But, he’s happy to be out there. I’m pretty sure it’s because he enjoys watching me force the dogs to stand in the deluge.

Yesterday I ventured out to gather a few last supplies for the weekend so we won’t need to go anywhere during the high winds. The news keeps telling us that more trees or branches fall during storms like this that are early in the season. Erm, no thanks. I’ve witnessed the destruction a 70-foot evergreen can do to a car and I’m not inclined to experience it from inside a moving vehicle. Anyway, because we don’t yet have all of our things out of storage, we were lacking some basic storm necessities like candles and batteries. And so it seems was everyone else in Kitsap County. I had to visit two stores before finding a package of D batteries. The wall of batteries at Target was empty. Empty. The last time I saw anything similar was many years ago when I lived in Pensacola, Florida and we were preparing for a hurricane. People were frantically emptying entire shelves of supplies into their carts. To be fair, the year before they’d had two hard-core hurricanes in the area and the locals had learned Mother Nature’s lessons by heart. They weren’t taking any chances.

My theory is that it’s always best to be prepared. Hmmm, haven’t I heard that somewhere before? Anyhoo, if you know a disaster is coming, put some things together and get ready. Having lived most of my life in earthquake country I can say I don’t worry about disasters too much. I always have some basic preparations in place and I make sure we’ve got food to eat if the power goes out. I don’t hang heavy pictures over my bed and I make sure that tall furniture is anchored to the wall. Plus, I usually have an emergency box handy with essential supplies. What else can you do?

What about other types of disasters? You know, non-natural disasters. The kind of disaster that life serves up when you’re least expecting it. The kind that knocks you off your feet and leaves you in a little quivering heap on the floor. I’ve officially learned there’s not much you can do. You have no control. You can’t fight. You can’t stop it from happening.

But, you do have control over what happens after the worst strikes. And, just like with natural disasters, you’ll be ok if you have a basic emergency survival kit available. For this type of disaster that translates to a few people you can count on to help you recover. If you find yourself laid out on the floor, breathless and dazed I want you to remember this. The next move is yours. Get back up. It doesn’t matter if you jump right up or if it takes days, weeks, or months. It doesn’t even matter if you do it under your own power. Let someone else pick you up. Just get back on your feet. And then take one step at a time, preferably away from whatever the hell knocked you down in the first place.

To everyone in the path of this Pacific Northwest storm, stay safe. And, to those of you dealing with the horrific impact of Hurricane Matthew, you are in my thoughts. Get back up. I promise, you can do it. You have a lot of people willing to help you make it through this.

On a happier note, I’m pretty sure I took my favorite photograph ever earlier today. My red leaf photo at the very beginning of this post has a water-drop smiley face in it! I’m going to take it as a sign that everything is going to be ok in the end.

Thanks for reading and Happy Friday!