Preparing for Bad Weather

Last night, the Stevens Point School District, under advisement of Portage County Emergency Planning, cancelled school for Thursday, June 7, 2007 (today). Our area is expected to get 70-80mph winds, hail the size of golf balls, and possible tornadoes. Being me, I have assembled a few basics and put them all in one spot downstairs. They don't cancel school on a whim in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where our kids to go school even if it 30 degrees below zero, so I figured gathering some basic supplies to be the most prudent course of action.

Jon and Noah, who have had some "preparing for emergencies" classes at school, saw what I was doing. I must say, Jon immediately sprung into action. I now have DS Lites and Pokemon cards sitting against the wall, right next to my bottled water. Their possessions are safe. Noah's backpack is down there as well, so he can be ready for school tomorrow. Pointing out that if the weather is severe enough, school might be cancelled for the rest of the year, was actually the wrong thing to do. Noah replied: "I would miss the last day of school?? That just can't happen!"

As I watched my little boys scurry about the house, rounding up the things they value most, my original thought was this: "What kind of sick values have I taught you kids?" But then I realized that they 1) Have no clue what kind of destruction these storms can create, and 2) They are so sure, so positive that I will take care of them, they can worry about their stuff. Despite what they have studied in school, the potential devastation of the potential storm that is predicted to hit our area is beyond the reality of small children's thought processes.

Jonathon thinks that if his school is destroyed that people all over the United States will send them more supplies, just like they did for the kids of Hurricane Katrina. What I had to explain to him is that this is not a situation in which kids or grown ups want find themselves. So, I think he understands as much as an eight year who was never experienced a horrific storm and lost everything is capable.

(By the way, I haven't had the heart to tell the kids if we lose electricity for a while that they are screwed as soon as their DS's batteries run out of power. One storm at a time.)

We will stay safe and I will post tomorrow morning (if I have electricity) to let everyone know how it went.