I realized the other day that one of the reasons this summer feels so "off" is because it started off with a tornado! It didn't damage our house thankfully, but we did lose many trees around our home. Below is a picture of one of the trees that got ripped out of the ground just over a month ago!
We didn't have electric power or running water for an entire week. Believe it or not, I was grateful for the opportunity to see how my family could handle the situation! Everyone always says you need "beans" and "rice" for emergencies. However, after experiencing this situation, I have a new perspective that I would like to share for anyone interested.
For the first 72 hours after the tornado, we were definitely in some kind of shock. Even though our home wasn't damaged and was safe to live in, trees and power lines were down everywhere. It was very disconcerting to see the forest around our home changed so much. We were also recovering from the fear of being so close to such a life threatening event. My family was huddled into a large closet, in a safe place in our home, when the tornado hit. The sounds I heard during this time were unlike anything I had ever heard before. My husband told me that it was just "large hail" but later I found out that he felt suction underneath the closet door, though somehow our home remained safe. Really, anything could have happened. We were praying hard during this time for God's protection!
All that to say, for at least the first 72 hours, I recommend an emergency kit to have, other than the obvious things recommend by everyone, enough baby wipes for 3 days, enough paper plates and plastic utentils for 3 days, 1 or 2 protein bars per person for 3 days, beef jerky or canned meat, and chips/easy snacks that do not require the refridgeator. During the first 3 days, we were so overwhelmed, it didn't even occur to me to use paper plates! My sink quickly started to fill up with dirty dishes even though I couldn't wash them. By the end of the week, the dishwasher and the sink were full of dirty dishes! Again, we didn't have any running water! We did have some emergency water that we could use for drinking, cooking, and other things, but the shock was so great to think clearly to use anything smartly or efficiently. So my biggest lesson learned is that any emergency kit should have supplies to make life as easy as possible in the beginning. After the first 72 hours or so, you will be ready to set up systems/routines for using water efficiently, washing clothes/dishes/counters/yourself, etc, but make sure to have plenty of baby wipes on hand just in case. Our power went back on almost 8 days after it went off!
This blog isn't about homeschooling, but I thought I would take the time to share it anyway!
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