Batting Down the Hatches

So I woke up this morning with a text from Rob that we are gearing up for our first hurricane.

As most of you know, few things turn my blood cold faster than the word 'hurricane' dropped by some Texas-grown Tropical Storm Veteran and today that's about all I've heard.

The insanity is supposed to hit us in the morning.

I've had moments of sheer panic, I'll admit it. But I think I'm prepared, as much as my corn-field-loving, miss-my-black-dirt, Iowa self can be. We've got the flashlights and candles ready, lots of bottled water, the tubs are filled with water, the flood insurance is paid up and being a grocery gamer, my pantry and attached garage are filled with food.

Right now this little Tropical Storm is basically making a beeline for Baytown. I'm convinced that God is trying to teach me something here, so I'm trying to keep myself teachable. I definitely had a few moments earlier in the day, but I've just been trying to keep my head up and telling the kids to trust God, that He'll take care of us and we'll be fine. The more times I tell them, the more I believe it myself.

I'm sure I'm over-reacting. It's hard not to though, if you don't believe me, take a gander at the Weather Channel right now. Between us and the massive storm in Chicago, that's all they are talking about. The local Houston channels are even worse, going on and on about evacuation routes and once in a while they mention that 'evacuations haven't been issued yet'. duh. It's a ton of hype, and being my first time it's hard to know when you really should panic.

I guess the whole hurricane thing wouldn't have bothered me before 2005 - but like everyone else in the country I watched three days of Katrina coverage, just sick for those people. Before that I always thought that hurricane was a fancy southern name for a big tornado. :) Now I have a whole new respect for hurricanes and an appreciation for a good insurance policy. I remember watching the tv during those fateful days and asking Rob over and over why those folks didn't have flood insurance. I vowed to Rob that day if we ever lived in hurricane country that the very first thing we'd buy is good insurance. Little did I know that God would move us to the Houston area two years later.

It seems like I'm not the only one panicking. The parking lots at the grocery store where full and they were out of water and peanut butter at Walgreens today. I passed four gas stations either lined out to the curb or OUT of gasoline before I found a pump to top off at. It was kind of creepy, reminded me of the way people behaved right after the towers came down. Made me want to get home to the safety of my own turf.

So, if you are praying for me tonight and tomorrow, please pray that my children would be calm, that our home would be safe and that the power would stay on. We've had record high temps this week with wicked humidity - seriously, even in St. Louis I've never felt humidity like we've had in the past week. You walk outside and you're instantly wet, and the air conditioning anywhere just can't quite keep up with it.

Speaking of air, mine broke yesterday, of course, because you-know-who especially enjoys picking on me on Sundays. It took most of the afternoon, but we got it solved. And man, today, every time I've walked in the house, even from the garage, I'm so blessed by our air. I just thank God for it. And the good news is, that our repair man said we have a really good unit and it should last for a long time to come. Praise God for that!

Oh, and I lost my debit card today, to top off all my drama. But I got it cancelled right away and no charges had been made, so that's good. Wow. What a week, and it's only Monday. :)