Storm Prep 101 – One, Make that Two Mom’s Whine

Storm season is approaching!  If you live on the east coast you know that means getting prepared for tornados as well as hurricanes.  Last fall Hurricane Matthew was predicted to do unprecedented damage to central Florida as well as the Atlantic coastline.  The predictions were so dire that in a rare move Disney announced the closure of their Orlando theme parks, proving their commitment to the safety of their guests and cast members.  Parents around the country watched the news and weather anxiously knowing their kids were working at Disney and in the path of this oncoming storm.

Two of us live on opposite sides of the country, but thanks to modern technology we were able to keep in constant contact with each other and our kids as they prepared for their first Florida hurricane together!  Now that may sound like said kiddos were busy and seriously preparing for the impending effects of the storm, but what we learned is there are huge differences in what we as moms called preparing and what they felt was important in preparing.  I believe one of the conversations went like this “Where are you?” “We’re at Target.” “Ok good. Are you getting food and water?” “Mom – you’ve got to see these new Beauty and the Beast dolls they have!”  Seriously!

Thanks again to modern technology we were able to see their movement as their serious storm prep ensued.  We watched as they left Target and headed to Publix (yay – food and water finally – NOT – cheap wine was the sought after item here).  From there we watched as they progressed around town – liquor store, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, Chick Fil A….. you get the picture!  The trend suggested their real fear was being stuck without being able to get out to a fast food drive thru and even worse – stuck without alcohol! Mission accomplished and they arrived home to proudly send us pictures of their storm supplies.

Text messages were flying back and forth between the four of us throughout the evening.  The two moms were glued to the weather channel while the two kids played video games and streamed movies and tv shows.  Matthew seemed to be slowing down and losing some of the earlier intensity.  The kids decided it was time to get some sleep.  The moms decided they had to stay glued to the weather channel for the night.  As we camped out in front of the tv all night we texted back and forth discussing who would make the trip down to smack some sense into our kids once the danger of Matthew had passed!

Thankfully Hurricane Matthew only brought some rain and wind to central Florida.  Disney was able to reopen late the next day and our kids didn’t miss a single day of being able to drive thru their favorite fast food eateries!  And two moms had a weary day as they recovered from their night of storm watching from the couch!

So as storm season approaches once again these two moms will be having a serious conversation with their kids about always being prepared and listening to your mom when she says get ready!  Even though Matthew didn’t hit as predicted, it could be different next time around!