We interrupt this Friday to bring you a hurricane.

Damn it.

A little back story: I grew up in the Midwest – Iowa to be exact. I am down with tornadoes, blizzards, white outs, and and rivers flooding. Been there, lived through that.

My favorite stat to throw out is: My senior year of undergrad, 57 tornadoes touched down within a 10 mile radius of my university IN THE MONTH OF MAY ALONE.

I got this. I know what to do.

I moved to Houston in 2007. That following year, we had Hurricane Ike. I’ve been here for 10 years and have prepared for many other tropical disturbances. In 2015 we had the Memorial Day Flood and last year we had the Tax Day Flood.

Our neighborhood is fairly far inland and in a 500 year floodplain.

Here’s where the irritating part comes in. We’ve known there was a storm coming across the gulf for a week or so now. The HUGE problem is that we had no concrete idea of 1. which way the storm would go, 2. if it would stay organized, 3. intensify or weaken, 4. completely disappear, and a whole host of other uncertainties.

But, the city started preparing. BUT we can’t cancel everything in the off chance it turns. But then everyone starts to worry and resources start to disappear (milk, bread, eggs – natural disasters are the perfect time for French Toast and brunch, in case you didn’t know).

This is NOT a laughing matter, but sometimes you just have to laugh a bit.

This city, area, region has been through this before. We’ve know what to do. Necessary evacuations are taking place. People are being checked in on. Everyone has a plan (some elaborate, some less so).

WE are as prepared as we can be.

So, here are a couple of Helpful Tips for any situation like this:

1. Fill up your gas tank. All the way. “I’ve got 3/4 of a tank” doesn’t cut it. (This was often a rule in winter in the Midwest, too. I’m just sayin’.)

2. Create whatever emergency kit makes you feel better. Mine has supplies for our dogs (because they can’t speak and remind me to grab their extra toys), shelf stable drinks (Capri Sun, etc. for MyChild), medications (Tylenol, Advil, Excedrine, Pepto Bismol, etc.), towel, paper towels, baby wipes, and shot records for the dogs and child and any other important documents we might need.  *After Ike, and people had to evacuate Galveston Island, they needed to provide proof of residency to be able to return to their neighborhood.

3. Prepare for boredom. We lost power after Ike for about a week. Other neighborhoods were much longer. In three days, I read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by candlelight. We have a LOT of board games that we can use with MyChild if necessary and her library is a little out of control.

4. Have an evacuation plan. Whether you think you will need it or not, what could it hurt to have a conversation along the lines of, “So, if our house DOES flood or we aren’t going to have power for a week, what if we drive up to Dallas?” *Specifically with hurricanes, we have a few options on places to land, because AGAIN we don’t know which way the damn thing is going to turn/go.

5. Our city officials, news personnel, etc. have been telling us repeatedly, “if you don’t need to be out, don’t be.” Be prepared to just stay home. My advice: Make sure you are with people you are willing to be stuck with for a week. I may have given MyHusband a side-eye this morning, considering my options, but I think we’ll be okay. {sarcasm font}

Oh! One more:

6. Let people know where you are and your status. Before. During. Immediately after the storm/situation. As I did right here, I OFTEN forget this. I usually get into that mode of “we’re fine, nothing to worry about,” but FORGET TO ACTUALLY TELL PEOPLE THAT. My family is in Oklahoma and MyHusband’s family is in Atlanta, but I do have an aunt and a couple of cousins here in the city. I tend to forget to mention to any/all of them that “Yes. We are fine. We are staying place. We have power.” Don’t be like me – call people. *Okay, perhaps text and/or Facebook. During the aftermath of Ike, emergency crews/officials took over the cell towers and calls weren’t going through, but text worked and now we have all these options with social media. Call your Mom, Damn It!

To everyone along the gulf coast:

To everyone else:

Walk through the Rain by Rachelle Dyer