Friday, July 30, 2010

Prepared in Any Weather

This month is supposed to be when my area gets a ton of rain. And by a ton of rain, I mean most of the measly amount we get each year.  Funny thing is that we haven't been getting much of anything.  While we have seen reports from around the country about torrential downpours, closed airports and flooding, we have been pretty dry.

This last week has been different.  We have had clouds threatening every day. Off in the distance we have even seen what looks like rain, but no luck.

I have to say that after a while you get a little complacent.  It is hard to stay on heightened alert for something that never happens.  Maybe I just have a short attention span, but when dark and brooding clouds sit over my house and don't do anything for over a week, well, I just don't believe them anymore.

Imagine my surprise yesterday when it started to rain.  And I mean really rain.  This was a bona fide gully washer and frog strangler. This was the kind of rain the windshield wipers can't keep up with.  There were white cap waves on the freeway and my son commented that it looked like snow coming from behind the tires of other cars as they sped past.

Should I have been surprised? No, this is what was supposed to be happening all along. But did I find myself prepared? Not really. About the time I turned on my windshield wipers I heard this horrible squeak.  Yep, I forgot my wipers are a few years old and a little brittle.  Brittle wipers don't do a very good job. Bummer.

I thought about the irony of all of this.  The sky had given me almost two weeks of warning that we were going to have a huge storm.  I had even wanted a huge storm. But did I prepare for it? Nope. I did not.

How often do we face the same situation?  We know a family member is getting old, but we don't determine final wishes or medical care.  We have kids, but don't plan for their support if we are gone.  We know we live in a fire prone area, but don't set up an evacuation plan.  We have been through a trucking strike before, but don't keep essential food and supplies on hand.

Hmmm.  You would think we were all nuts.  Maybe we are.

I think it is human nature to put off until tomorrow what could best be done today.  We all hope it won't be needed.  For some reason inaction is so much more comfortable than action. Unfortunately, that won't help much when the storm comes.  Even if I had purchased new wipers beforehand, it was far too wet to install them in the storm.  A little prep work would have gone a long way.

So take some time and think about it.  I know you don't likely have a crystal ball, but take the time to think about upcoming situations in your life.  Maybe you have storms coming up like we do.  Maybe you haven't yet planned for ill health or death.  Whatever it is, take the time to do the small things to keep yourself prepared.

Just because the clouds have not yet dumped the rain, doesn't mean they won't.  Do not become complacent. Act now. Being prepared in any weather allows you to enjoy the rain, while not fearing the storm.

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