Post-Tornado Lessons


13 things I learned post-tornado:

It is difficult to do things like brush your teeth and apply makeup in the bathroom with a flashlight, so if you come out to a room that lets the sun in, it is easier. This also leads to the next thing I learned, natural light is really helpful in tweezing those stray chin hairs!

Poop is easier to smell than to see in a dark bedroom. (And before you even ask Bud, NO, I did not do it!)

There are “security” nozzles that you can have on gas cans now. And you can STOP right now, trying to squeeze the cap and turn it—like a pill bottle. You actually have to grab the sides of the long spout and pull back on it—almost—dare I say it—as if pulling on something un-circumsized—to pour the gasoline out. Which, I am sorry, is INCREDIBLY tricky to do unless you have three hands! AND, I didn’t learn that one, after about 15 minutes of trying to turn the cap in the cold, I gave up. Lisa had to show me how it worked.

Generator—shouldn’t have a “rip cord” that people with short, T-Rex arms have to pull. It is instead, imperative that you fully brace yourself to pull that cord all the way across your chest and into the air to gain the necessary momentum to start the generator.

If you have the main circuit breaker on and you are running a generator, you need to turn that off so you don’t electrocute utility workers. No really you do. This one is serious. And NO, I did NOT do that!!

It is hilarious how we are so conditioned to turn on light switches that even after 24 hours of no electricity is it STILL my first impulse to hit the light switch when entering a room.

And no matter how many times you go to the bathroom in one day, if you go into the bathroom and it is dark, you are searching for that flashlight so you can see “what you are doing”.

If you have a Keurig, and no electricity, have fun trying to make coffee!! (And well, I wouldn’t really call caffeine withdrawal “fun”.)

Don’t believe everything you hear. The fireman who stopped me and wouldn’t let me continue down the road said EVERYONE had left and was at the town hall. This was not true, Geri and Fred were at the house. Call and confirm!

Pack a bag while it is light. If you need to stay elsewhere for a night, it is easier to have it packed in the daylight, then to fumble around a dark room by flashlight trying to get what you need.

A good night’s sleep and a hot shower and cup of coffee and everything seems better 😊

I learned to humble myself and ask for help and rely on other people. It was great to have a place to stay for a while, someone to come and help with the generator, to alert me when the power was back on, and overall just checking up on me. For those who did, it was appreciated.

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