Lessons from Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew was a threat to central Florida's Atlantic coast. We are on that coast. We are not originally from areas that are susceptible to hurricanes.

We are rookies.

I had made a lot of plans to keep us safe. Flashlights, drinking water, non perishable foods along with produce that doesn't need refrigeration. Clean clothes and entertainment not dependent on electricity. Objects moved away from windows and walls, porch cleared, phones charged, and gas tank filled. I was pleased with these plans.

My years as a Girl Scout paid off.

Part of the experience left me skeptical that this preparation was even necessary. I still wanted to make sure we weren't caught short.

My office surprisingly closed early one day and preemptively closed the coming days. I have to confess I was excited. It felt like snow days like we had as kids in the snow belt. I was also struck by the fact that my company closed for the next few days in advance.

Suddenly it felt less like a snow day and more like a dire situation.

The locals were running around getting prepared to hunker down or seek refuge.  Soon after leaving work early, grocery stores were cleared, gas stations were closed, and highways were full. It was time to make a decision about my preparations and plans.

We hid the road.

I felt like a failure ridiculous.

After arriving at my cousin's house, we couldn't stop watching the weather forecast as the category 4 hurricane threatened to become a category 5. Flooding became a serious concern which is damaging enough but also increases mosquito breeding. Not something I ever worried about with a blizzard.

It became ever more evident that we made the right decision to get our of harm's way.

Lesson learned: Pride doesn't give the best advice. Better to be safe than sorry.