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Friday, March 11, 2011

A Strange Day

My school is a couple of blocks from the beach. So you can imagine the scene in the office this morning...lots of tears....lots of kids afraid of being left off at school. What if it comes? What if the tsumani comes?

Of course I told them it wouldn't, and that everything would be okay.

And it was.

Today.

For us.

But things like this remind me of how unprepared I am. I have no plan...and maybe it is impossible to plan for such events, but this morning as I drove from where I live (high ground) down to the school (low ground), I realized that I had no idea if everyone (in my family) had actually charged their cell phones so I could reach them if I needed to. We hadn't planned any times to check in with each other, or places to meet, or decided who was going to get the pets.

I mean, I even took the good car. I should have taken the crummy car if it was at all likely that it could be washed away in a parking lot. What was I thinking?

I wasn't thinking. I was just doing. Because that is what we do. We just go on...and we pray for those who weren't as lucky as we were today.

But I started thinking today that I need to give all of this a bit more thought. I mean, I live in SoCal. It's not a question IF an earthquake will strike, but WHEN.


hrh

13 comments:

Corey Schwartz said...

Oh, wow. Very sad... and very scary!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

I'm glad you were able to give the kids some comfort on a very disturbing day.
It's strange how complacent we become, even knowing it will come, even having lived through other quakes. I keep meaning to leave a pair of slip-on shoes next to the bed, because one of the most common injuries is cut feet from running barefoot. I hope, Shelley, we don't ever face the horror that happened in Japan today, but you're right we should be prepared as is possible.

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

I'm glad you were safe today, Shelley. I am so sad and praying for the people in Japan. You'll probably need to comfort your kids more next week....

erica and christy said...

There's so many things that could go wrong every day. A kid could fall of the playground equipment. Someone could slip in the hallway. By pushing their chair back, they could go down, smacking their head on the table and knocking their front tooth out (okay, that one really happened in my room).

This is a lot to think about. Too much. Teachers need to take things day by day and know that they'll make the best decisions they can in any situation!!
erica

Dawn Simon said...

I'm so sad about the devastation in Japan. I keep thinking about the people--the dead, missing, hungry, trapped. The ones searching for family... Such a tragedy.

Carla said...

It is so sad to think about the situation Japan is in now. I live in Houston, so the scariest weather we get are hurricanes, but we usually have a decent warning if we're going to get hit. Still, we keep food and water storage, first aid and 72-hour kits. I was thinking about what you said, though, that anything could happen anytime. I really need to do better at keeping my gas tank full and my cell phone charged. It often sits dead for a couple days at a time, and I suppose that's really not safe.

Jess said...

It's got to be very scary for you all living in SoCal. Thanks for being a comfort to those kids~I'm sure the parents would personally thank you for saying the right thing if they knew what was asked. Something like this always has an effect on me~ evaluating my blessings, wondering what I would do if disaster struck, etc. Stay safe :)

Unknown said...

My son goes to university in Victoria. I gave him a first-aid kit, a flashlight and a crowbar for Christmas. :)

storyqueen said...

Corey-The weird thing is that you can't even be scared, because of the kids. We just go about our business and later think, "Sheesh,I need to be better prepared!"

Tricia-The shoes is a great idea. I thought also about stockpiling bottled water...

Sharon-I am praying for them, too. So sad.

Erica-So True! I mean, we should be thankful that more bad stuff doesn't happen at school, right?

Dawn-Yeah, the missing....that might be the toughest.

Carla-A 72 hour kit isn't a bad idea. And I live right near a disaster preparedness center, but am I prepared?

Jess-The thing is, most days we don't even think about it. We are sitting on a HUGE fault, and we don't even give is a thought.

Elle-That is a great idea. And you gotta love a mom who gives her son a crowbar!

Margo Berendsen said...

The earthquake sure has been a lot on my thoughts lately, too. It seems like huge natural disaster are hitting on a regular annual basis these days. Which country will get hit next? What will be our next 9/11 or Katrina?

Stephanie Faris said...

So true...but it's this way for all of us. I've found in life, though, that the things we worry about aren't usually the things that happen. It's that which we never anticipate.

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

It's scary to think how quickly our lives can change. Events like this stand as reminders, I think.

So glad you were safe. Pretty scary stuff.

Laura Pauling said...

So true. After the first ice storm hit New England a couple years ago - we were prepared the next winter with candles, kerosene lamps, the propane stove ready to go, lots of water and canned good, flashlight, batteries. I'm glad you stayed safe.