Hurricane Season is Here Again!

For those of us along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, this is not really happy news, but Monday is the official start of hurricane season.

I live in an area that was hit by Hurricane Ike last year (the picture below is our driveway shortly after the storm), and while we were fairly well prepared and sustained only minor roof and tree damage, we learned a lot about preparing for, living through, and dealing with the aftermath of a major hurricane.
We evacuated for Hurricane Rita a few years ago and spent 12 hours in traffic and only made it about 15 miles from our house! We had a 2 year old, a 6 week old baby, and a dog in the car. Gas stations were empty and we were constantly worried about running out of gas. That experience plus the fact that we were not in a mandatory evacuation zone, convinced us to ride this one out. We are glad we did, but wish more had left Galveston and the areas around it where so many died!

13 Things we learned about riding out a hurricane:

1. When hurricane force winds blow into your town it's not a good idea to gather your 3 young kids and your dog and head into the master bedroom closet at 1AM. Just brave the possibility of glass flying through your house at 100mph! In the closet nobody will sleep, first they'll be excited about being in the closet lined with sleeping bags, then start bickering over the few toys and books, then they will insist you run out to get other beloved items that were left behind because your life is much less important than say, the 2nd pillow from off their bed! It will get hot and stuffy because your A/C needs electricity, and your toddler will crawl over everyone a couple thousand times.

2. After the hurricane, you will speak with neighbors 3 times per day that you had only waved to a few times in the previous 1 ½ years you have lived on that street.

3. When there is no electricity, it’s a good idea to bathe your kids before it gets dark; it is not easy to do by flashlight!

4. On that note, you need more than just regular flashlights, but a few of those lanterns that light up a whole room!

5. After the hurricane, you will be so glad you practice stockpile shopping because you’ll not only be able to feed your family, but others, as well, when the stores are closed.

6. Speaking of stockpiling things, those experts are serious when they say buy batteries and bottled water before a hurricane threatens. Around here all the store shelves are picked clean of those items at the first mention of a hurricane in the Gulf, 5 days before landfall!

7. Post-hurricane, you will realize the huge blessings of ice and being able to do a load of wash!

8. You will happily wait in line for over an hour at the grocery store or gas station and be thankful they are opened!

9. A gas-powered stove and hot water heater are awesome!

10. A hand-crank radio will provide you with much-needed news through the storm and the days after when you are without TV, radio, Internet, and newspapers.

11. In the days and weeks after a hurricane you will cheer on the power trucks and trash trucks as they drive down your street!

12. After 2 weeks of school and all kid activities being canceled, you will never be so glad to hop back into the “rat race”!

13. You will see this scripture with a whole new understanding: Matt. 8:24-27, “And behold, there arose a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves; but He himself was asleep. And they came to Him, and awoke Him saying, ‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing!’ And He said to them, ‘Why are you timid, you men of little faith?’ Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and it became perfectly calm. And the men marveled, saying, ‘What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’”

Find more Thankful Thursday at Spiritually Unequal Marriage, Thousand Words Thursday at Cheaper Than Therapy, Thursday {Thirteen} at Happy to be @ Home and Things I love Thursday at The Diaper Diaries