Hurricane Parties — Then And Now
Some days it hits me really hard that I am officially a parent now, not like I can ever forget this or even want to, but do you know what I mean?
Activities that used to be part of my childless life, like sleeping in, taking last minute road trips, spending a lot of money and time cooking a gourmet meal, swimming in the ocean and kayaking all day, etc. remind me, “Hey you are a mom now, don’t forget it! “ I’m constantly reminded that the “before” was quite a bit different than the “after” and probably more carefree (and not as responsible or intelligent in certain cases like the one I am about to mention).
No this is not our home, thank God!
The last time we had a decent hurricane, I think it was 2.5 or 3 years ago, I reacted much differently than I did this time around. I was not even pregnant at the time and we did not have custody of Marissa, so Chris and I decided to be kids and run around like idiots in the storm. At the time we were renting a place on the island, so after a bit to drink we ran down to the beach to see the waves and the wind and I felt like I could get swept away at any moment. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once!
Good times. Not the smartest thing to do, but fun all the same. We were lucky that the storm decided not to smack us with a Tsunami or snatch us right up for our foolishness (:
Fast forward to this last week and our friend Hurricane Earl. Now with a tween and a baby to consider, I had all the necessities on hand just in case. Everything on Mamta’s list was packed in the garage except the portable potty (which I am curious about…but that is for another conversation…)
Chris had put the plants and lawn furniture in the shed and gotten his generator hooked up and ready for the storm as well, and we had plenty of food and water, even for picky little toddlers! So yeah, we were ready for this one! I felt calm and prepared in case of emergency.
However, as the storm approached and the weather reports started getting worse, I began to get a tad nervous. What if Isaac got sick or hurt and the hospital was closed? And with that one thought I started to consider taking one of my infamous last-second road trips of my past, except this would be a lot different. As soon as I got word that the daycare was closed, I threw a couple essentials in the car and hit the road to Maryland, my “safe zone” off the and up the coast.
Hmmm…seems a bit silly now considering how Earl panned out, but it was still a fun hurricane party, and much safer and smarter than the last time!
Did anyone else overreact? Haha maybe it was just me!
When we first moved here, people would tell us about how they’d have hurricane parties and drink hurricanes when there was a storm coming. If I didn’t have kids, I’d be tempted to do the same!
Funny story about you and Chris running around on the beach after a few drinks!! I bet you weren’t the only ones!
All in good fun, haha (: We’ll see if I’m still laughing when I catch Marissa and Isaac doing the same thing!
[...] got our hurricane parties, Mamta’s checklist for essentials, and Theckla’s emergency tips, as well as our [...]