I Hope That’s Understandable

I’m concerned some of my recent entries (specifically this one and this one) may have come across as little more than griping that people care about me.

I swear that’s not it.

I don’t mind being asked if I know there’s a storm coming. (I almost certainly do know, and I’ve probably been watching it since it first showed up as a blip on the NHC map, but I have been blindsided on occasion, so I always appreciate a heads up.) I don’t mind being asked after the fact if everything is okay. (I may be perplexed at the question depending on how far away landfall was from my area, but I won’t mind!)

But there’s a reason I wrote a FAQ entry during Hurricane Irma. My job during hurricanes is to see to the safety of my family, and sometimes I just need to focus on my job.

And There It Is . . .

It’s not officially a “good” hurricane season around here until I wake up to a panicked e-mail/text from someone saying, “OMG! I just saw the news! Are you okay??!?!?!?!!?”

Mystery Solved

After a couple days of (to me) perplexingly worried inquiries about my safety regarding Ian, I decided to sit down and solve this little vexing mystery. Inquiries from those who only know my location as “Florida” or “South Florida” always get an automatic pass, of course, because that covers a lot of territory, so their inquiries are understandable. It was the inquiries from those who know my precise location that caused me to boggle and think, “We’re all watching the same storm track, right?”

And we were.

But *I* was also looking at the local conditions and forecasts for my specific area, and they weren’t.

So If You’re ANYWHERE Along The Path, Be Prepared

As I sit here with little else to do today but watch the path of the storm, I find myself considering just how deeply inland it looks like this one is going to be going. While obviously the coastal regions are going to be hit the hardest, I remember being inland and without power for two days in the wake of a storm smaller than this one because the city infrastructure simply wasn’t prepared for such conditions.

As Quickly And Calmly As Possible

In all of human history, I doubt there has ever been a disaster so big that there wasn’t at least one person that “didn’t see what the big deal is.”

Don’t be that person, and if they tell you to evacuate, do yourself and your family a favor and evacuate!

At Least I Haven’t Reached The Point Where I SAY It

I know this is unkind of me, but I’ve reached the point when I’m out in public I find myself thinking, “Oh, you’re taking a selfie, huh? How . . . quaint.”

As I Went To Get Her Ice

L’s Mother: Would it be asking too much for you to get me some ice?

Me: At the moment, yes. I can do it a bit though.

L’s Mother: Okay. It’s just that I burnt myself and . . .

Me: *sighing because once again she has buried the lead*

“Now Bother Me No More For This Day”

Some years back (as social media helpfully reminded me today) I took a picture of my then toddler son looking suddenly exhausted right after he had managed to smear green cupcake frosting all over the lower half of his face. (I knew the cupcake was too big for him, but I dramatically underestimated the amount of mess he would make.)

But it was the caption I added to said picture that made me chuckle, because it’s a phrase I’ve revisited from time to time over the years since:

“Life . . . she is the mystery understood only by the clown of ennui.”

Advice Worth Repeating

It’s been said before, but the words you say in anger are the same words that are remembered long after your anger is gone.

Feeling Week(s)

That moment you realize it can’t be one of “those” weeks, because last week was one of “those” weeks and this week is going be even more of one of “those” weeks than last week was, making this week one of “THOSE” weeks.