So for those of you who don't know mw, I'm a preparedness junkie. I wouldn't go so far as to classify myself as a doomsday prepper, but I'm firmly in the
better prepared than a zombie category.
I also live in a small town in Colorado where nothing interesting ever happens. That is, we don't have hurricaines, volcanoes, tidal waves, earthquakes (to speak of) and the worst flooding we get is the corner of North avenue where the drainage ditches like to overflow sometimes.
So people often ask me, what are you prepping for?
In most cases, it's banal everyday stuff. I have food storage that i use to help get us through 'lean times' like layoffs or hours being cut back at work. I grow as much of my own food as possible in my little yard and I even keep chickens, both for the benefit of healthy, low cost food and to help teach my children how to be self sufficient, which I think is very important. But I learned the
Be Prepared lesson years ago when my first son was an infant. We lived in Whidbey Island in Washington and one day the water main that supplied our town ruptured. We were without water for a day. One full day.
My son, a formula baby, needed to eat. And I had to go to the grocery store, infant in arms, and fight to the death over the last gallon of bottled water in the store. Seriously. You'd have thought someone dropped a bomb on us the way folks were scrambling like lunatics.
That day I swore I'd never find myself in that situation again. And to this day I haven't.
FAST FORWARD TO PRESENT DAY.
This week Armageddon happened on my street. By Wednesday I was fully prepared for raining frogs and a plague of locust, no joke. What happened was so random, so banal, most people wouldn't even consider something like this happening.
A construction crew on my street hit a gas line. (BAD)
Then gas filled a house a few doors down from mine and the house exploded. (WORSE)
And that house caught two other houses on fire. (HOLY CRAP ALMIGHTY)
Luckily no one died.
But, and here's the best part, the
leak is bad and still leaking. The entire street (Including my house and my kids schools) were evacuated. Many of those people are still homeless. And the people whose homes were damaged (see: blown to smithereens) have nothing. No clothes. No food. Nothing.
This is the worst kind of disaster because it can literally happen anywhere.
Now, in situation like this, hard core survivalists might laugh. But here's the thing. If you had five minutes warning to get out of your house with your family, or worse, if you were at work and got the call that you couldn't go home, possibly for several days, what would you do?
Lucky for me I had a plan. My children knew this plan. As a matter of fact, my littlest one was ECSTATIC to finally get to play with the games I'd tucked away in our BoB (Bug out Bucket).
On my way out the door a grabbed one five gallon bucket, two backpacks, and my purse.
*Note: I did not take my 72 hour kit because my extended family lives in the same town as us so I knew I'd have both food and shelter for as long as I needed it. Most people were not that lucky.(My 72 hour kit contains all the water, food, shelter, and necessities to survive 3 days for a family of five, all packed neatly into a rolling tool box.)
The BoB was filled with books, toys, snacks, and kid goodies as well as wet wipes, snack foods, and TP.
**Note: If you only store/hoard one thing, make it TP. Hoard it like it's made of gold. Seriously.
In backpack #1 is a change of clothes for each person in my family.
In backpack #2 is all our important paperwork. Birth certs, SS cards, insurance info, etc. and a wallet of cash in small bills.
***Note: I also had in my car a 24 hr Car Kit that includes water, snacks, blankets, a battery radio and flashlight, and first aid kit. I keep this in the car at all times.
So was it scary? Yes. But you would be amazed how much being prepared for any emergency can give you piece of mind. We were only out of our home one day but even if we'd had to spend a few days away we would have been just fine.
The moral of this story is that no matter where you live, no matter how safe you are, the unexpected happens. Whether it be a power outage, gas break, or no kidding apocalyptic type emergency, being prepared is the best thing you can do for you and your family. It doesn't take long or cost much. If you are just beginning, I highly recommend checking out
www.survivalmom.com for great tips and checklists.
Also, I'd like to give a big KUDOS to the staff at Tope Elementary who not only got the children out of the school and to safety in record time, but whose dedication to the children's well being makes me glad to trust my kids to them. They were quick, efficient,and kind. Well done.
