Hurricane Irene is going to strike our area; this is not good news. In the suburbs of Philadelphia, we are used to snowstorms, blizzards, Nor’easters, but not Hurricanes! The warnings are up and we are in the “cone”, an area expected to get 5 – 10 inches of rain and 50 – 70 mile an hour winds. The prediction itself is nerve wrecking! Watching the New Jersey shore be evacuated is upsetting. Seeing the video of newsmen standing in the ocean in their suit pants, being pelted by waves is just foolish.
All week, my husband and I were looking forward to seeing our son and his lovely girlfriend at their apartment this weekend. Even the four-hour drive was something I was looking forward to. We haven’t seen them in two weeks and so much has changed for them! My son's classes have begun. He is so very busy every day, 12 hour school days followed by long hours of work at home! His girlfriend has started a new job and is working tirelessly, coming home late at night. Together, they are getting adjusted to their new life. We were so excited to see them this weekend, hug them, enjoy being with them, but now that’s not looking like an option!
Hurricane Irene is expected to pound our area beginning tomorrow evening, escalating through the night and, with any luck, leaving by Sunday night. The chance of losing power is probably not a chance but a certainty. The reality is trees will be uprooted, but, where will they fall? When we lose power our sump pump will stop working which means our basement will flood. Our heater and so many other things, too large to move are down there. The damage that could be is just devastating!
As for preparations, we went to the market last night and bought water and other non-perishable food. We do have peanut butter - it was one of the items on the "must have" list! It’s a frightening feeling to know something is coming that could be so destructive yet there is only so much you can do to prepare and protect everyone and everything, the rest is out of our hands.
Today, I will go to the store where I work; I’m sure we will sell a lot of batteries, the flashlights are already long gone. I just wish I could think of what else to do to prepare!
Finally, I am nervous about being out-of-touch. If we lose the power we have been told we have 4 hours of battery back up for our phones, that’s all. Without phones and without the Internet, I won’t be able to hear from my son. That makes me extremely anxious. I know we are the ones in the path of Irene, but I need to know he’s okay, too! I have a car charger and can use it for my cell phone, running the car in the garage for short amounts of time with the garage door open and rain pouring, hammering in; but what if cell service goes down, which is a possibility?!
I am thankful my daughter and her boyfriend will be here this weekend. I am especially glad since New York is even more of a direct target, and if they weren't going to be here, they'd be there. My nephew lives there, in his new home, and I am sending good thoughts his way!
It’s my goal to chronicle the storm through this blog. Even when the power is gone, I will write the old fashioned way, with pen and paper, and post it afterward....at least that’s the plan.
Please take care out there! Go buy your peanut butter, crunchy or creamy or both and be sure you have water! I’ll see you here later!!
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