Guess Who’s Spending the Night? Storm on its Way

Major snowstorms blanket the Eastern coast

Over the last two days I’ve heard from friends and readers recount their stories of the last few days of confronting the snow storm in the east.  Two of my friends attended a Christmas party at an upscale townhome in Annapolis, Maryland.  They drove their SUV and felt that all would be well in spite of the windy snow storm. When the party was over and the guests were leaving, it was quickly apparent that no guests were leaving—not even the driver of the Hummer. All of the vehicles were literally snowed in.  So what did the guests do? 

Bail Out Bags Perfect for weathering the storm

I’m happy to report that 3 of them were able to get to the “bail out bags” in their vehicles, put on a change of comfortable clothes, and help the hostess get everyone settled down for the night. The fire place crackled with plenty of wood. The shelves were suitably stocked with something other than caviar and cream cheese. And the hostess dutifully earned her title as “the one with the mostess” as she pulled out a sufficient number of sleeping bags and bedding for all!  She was also able to supply the less prepared individuals with alternative clothing for sleeping. This is happy story #1. To make it even happier would be to know that YOU could do the same thing if you were such a hostess.

Happy story #2: This is from a reader in New England. “Kellene, thanks for writing such a great blog that I can rely on. As you know, we’re preparing in this area for a “noreaster” storm. Going to the grocery store requires a hour of drive-time because of where I live. But since I’ve been reading your blogs, I’ve been going less and less and stocking up more and more. When I heard the news of the storm, my girlfriend called me in a panic wanting to go to the store and stock up. I told her that the news had just said that the stores were already empty and not to worry because she could stay at my house for a couple of days. I already had enough to see us through the storm.” Don’t you just love happy stories, folks?  Again, it would be much happier if you knew that you could do the same in your world.

Bail out bags work great as vehicle emergency supply bags

Here’s a so-so happy story. I was sent this via a tweet from a reader in the East. I don’t know exactly where they are though. “Thanks to you, I at least have my b.o.b. (bail out bag/box) Good thing since we’ve been stranded on the road for over two hours now in the snow.” Obviously, this would be a happier story if they weren’t stranded. But hey, stuff happens and we simply have to be prepared for it. I hope the have solar flares, heat packs, blankets, water, and something to eat as well as extra warm clothing!

Is a storm all we need to worry about?

The point to all of this is that the storm experienced in the East aren’t indicative of “the end of the world as we know it” but they sure did wreak havoc on “normalcy” in the lives of over 60 million people. (and they still are, of course.) I only got to hear from those who were happy with their efforts of preparing themselves. I think that at Christmastime we are especially vulnerable to not being prepared. Our efforts and energy are consumed by all of the Christmas activities that need to be done.  I’m very pleased to hear from these few individuals who didn’t put off some preparedness efforts “as a New Year’s Resolution.”

Recently my husband and I were greeted by a Secret Santa gift of some cash. Want to know what we’re doing with it? We’re going to buy more molasses, sprouts, vegetable oil, orange zest, and diced tomatoes because I feel a little shy in those areas specifically. That’s a perfect Christmas gift to me! Hopefully you’ll all provide the perfect lifesaving gift to yourselves and your loved ones this year by having families ENTER the New Year being better prepared.