Preparedness

Driving up Highway 17 with my mom, I was thinking about how my wart was finally gone off my toe. As a 16 year old this little wart was some of the biggest of my concerns, consuming my thoughts. I was not even thinking about the World Series pre game chatter we were listening to at the time on the radio. My thoughts and concerns focused on my look, my finally normal toe. In a brief moment my mundane, innocent thoughts turned. The road became a sea of waves. The radio fell silent. Trees lined the streets and bowed down to us. An overwhelming eerie quiet and calm filled the air. What had happened?

I quickly realized an earthquake had hit, and began to giggle at all the people pulled over checking their tires for a flat. My mom even commented that she thought we had a flat. Realizing that not every single person got a flat, I urged my mom to continue on, but we were stopped by huge fissures in the highway. We took a back road, to only be stopped again by fallen trees and rushing waters from broken water mains.

As we hiked the few miles home up hill, I looked into the homes, and was amazed at how messy all our neighbors kept them. Not until I walked into my own home did I realize the intense destruction of the earthquake of which its epicenter was two miles away.

Were we prepared that day? In some ways, we have been counseled by leaders and Prophets to store up food, have candles and water to be prepared for an emergency. We had that, well most of that. We didn’t have stored water but some juices and sodas.

I am not sure what I thought an emergency would consist of but nothing from words or lessons could have prepared us for a week with no electricity and six months with no running water, never mind all the rebuilding and repairing that was to take place.

With out the electricity, we turned to our frozen foods, not our can foods. The freezer didn’t stay cold for long, and all that meat and frozen vegetables had to be consumed. I don’t think I ever consumed so much meat in my life. The great part was we sat around the BBQ grill, with flashlights and roasted meat, and shared stories with friends and neighbors. We even delivered cooked steaks to other neighbors, and shared our food with them.

In my few years of life, I had sat through Sunday School lessons and Sacrament meeting talks, as the words of being prepared for an emergency flew over my head. I was a youth. I had no cares. I had no worries. My parents would take care of it all, and they did.

And not only did they, but neighbors and ward members all helped out. We cleaned each other’s houses. We gave food. Wards from across the country “adopted” us and sent us new dishes, meals, other lost items and cash.

In the end of it all I learned a great lesson. Maybe I wasn’t prepared that day for an emergency, I was too preoccupied with my little wart growing on my foot to care about heeding “adult” council. However, there isn’t a day that goes by that doesn’t bring me back to that moment in my life, when we needed to be prepared.

We needed to be prepared to receive help from others.

We needed to be prepared to help others.

We needed several everyday items on hand to survive. Roads weren’t drivable to go down to the store. The local stores received a lot of damage as well, to where their things weren’t sellable.

We needed to be prepared to watch others selflessly serve. Our own Branch President at the time, lost his home, it was leveled. He went around and checked branch members, he helped them out. The local beer company stopped producing beer for a week and just canned water, which they delivered in cases to all the homes in the area.

Emergency preparedness is more than having your shelves lined with canned food, flashlights and blankets. It’s about preparing your hearts for the type of service you will give to others and also the service you will receive.

And like me, just driving along on the freeway worrying more about my little toe, than others, we need to stop on our journey of life and think about those around us; how we can be prepared to serve them as well as take care of ourselves.


President Brigham Young said “Instead of searching after what the Lord is going to do for us, let us inquire what we can do for ourselves.” As we go about praying for the Lord to help us be prepared for our life emergencies, we need to go about and do all that we can to be prepared and pray that He can help us get to the point where we can not only be prepared for ourselves, but prepared to reach out to those around us.

Stop worrying about your little warts, and begin to worry about the bigger picture.

Piano Man

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday, regular crowd shuffles in...there's an old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin...Oh la di da di da da...." sang my radio as I began to reach over to snooze the melody waking me up this cold winter morning. I never liked having to set the alarm to wake up before the sun. And today was no exception.

I rolled over and shoved my head under the pillow, telling my alarm to give me ten more minutes. I do set my clock ahead ten minutes just so I can snooze an extra ten minutes. Kind of crazy mind games I play with myself, but there is something powerful about hitting the snooze and dozing off for a few minutes.

Though before I can finish dreaming about being a piano man in a bar, the alarm goes off again, to the sounds of the weather forecaster predicting a heavy snow fall. Great. The morning I decide to finally get up and go for a run it is freezing out and blizzardly.

I knew I should have bought a gym membership, I thought to myself as I tied up my shoes. I decided nothing was going to keep me from my goal. I grabbed my jacket, my hat and gloves and off I went.

To Run or Not To Run

To Run or not to Run,

seems to be the biggest question of my life...I mean really do you know any really over weight runners? I mean really, it seems to be such a simple task, get up, move your feet a little faster than walking, just two miles a day....and they say you will get faster, they say the weight will drop. They say you will feel better.

So why the heck is it so hard to get my tennis shoes on? Why can't I find the 30 minutes I need each day to make it the 2 miles? Why is it so hard to just go outside alone?

I just don't know!

Though today, amidst the rain, the cold weather, the crying of the kids "don't go mommy" I went out side and walked for an hour. Up the hills. Down the hills. Jogging a little here and there.

It is a start. It is a beginning.

Maybe just maybe in a few weeks I can be jogging. Maybe in a few weeks I will be down just ten pounds. Not a lot but a start.

Later I will work on the eating, but for now, its getting these legs moving.

Beck, Alice Walker, and Kissy Face

As I drove down the street heading to meet up with some friends, I listened carefully to the words of John Beck. If there were someone out there that could voice my political feelings. Something he said, headed my thoughts away from him and onto my own pathetic life.

What was it that he had said? I can't really remember but it made me think that this economy and recession and signs of the times have come and bit my family in the butt.

Really, how did we get where we are? What did we do that caused us to be heaped upon by trials and tribulations. I know it is apart of life, but really could we just slow it down a bit.

Then for some reason, maybe a little guidance by the spirit telling me to lighten up, I thought of the book The Color Purple, where life for those gals was tough, truly hard, and nothing compared to my life.

Though why does it feel like I have hit bottom that I can't get out of the hole that I am in?

Its is hard enough to find a job, let alone in our times right now. I feel for those across the nation that their whole towns and family are struggling what we are. I feel for my own brother and some dear friends.

What I would do right now to have someone look at me and make one of those fishy kissy faces and make things all better, sending me into a fit of laughter.

If life were only as easy as it was when a child, when simple smiles and kisses made you feel better.

headache

"I have a headache this big and it has Excedrin written all over," buzzed the lady on TV looking worse than I did this morning. I really could use some Excerine myself.

Its been several weeks since I slept all night, and several more that I have stayed up way too late, surfing the web for solutions to my life problems.

Not sure how many solutions I can find out there hopping through blogs, reading emails, looking at free stuff on KSL, and looking for homes for sale and for rent. It isn't like I can buy a house, or rent one for that matter. I have no room for stuff, even if it is free, and my emails are old and out dated, but unread, but not calling me really to read them anyway.

I feel alone. I feel tired. I feel lost. I feel sad. I haven't felt this bad, since my post partum depression post my third child.

My head is pounding. I need some sun light, but the cold outside gives me brain freeze and burns my lungs.

Oh how I could go for a bottle of Excederine, right now. Maybe a Coke would help or a visit with some friends.

Insecurity

I am feeling so insecure. Who would have thought that at the age of 35---yes today is my birthday---I'd be where I am. Living with my parents, four kids and a job less husband, several dollars in debt, over weight and just depressed for the most part. It just has me in a stump of insecurity.

I just want to feel secure in this life.

I know that all happens for a reason. That we aren't tested above our means, but today I feel like I truly couldn't handle anymore. That I am about to break. I can't even imagine being able to handle any more or wanting to handle anymore. I feel I have hit rock bottom. I feel like I am drowning. I feel like I am done.

Talk about insecure right now.

Not insecure about myself. I think I am a pretty cool person. Don't mind too much how I look or if people like me.

My insecurities lie in what lies ahead. The uncertainty of the future. The uncertainty if ever my life will be calm. I know we are here to experience trials and tribulations, but I am done right now.

But again if these are the trials for me. I will take them, over other ones I know others have.

Talk about babbling.

My Turn

I have decided that right now its My TURN to take care of myself.

I have decided that it is ok for me to take an hour out of my day, to run, to read, to just be me.

I have decided that when it is eight at night and kids are crying because they want me and don't want to go to sleep, it is ok to say you know what its your turn to go to bed, and my turn to do things for me.

I have decided that when all is said and done if I don't take my turn, I won't be around to do much of anything.

I need my turn to recoup.

I need my turn to refocus.

I need my turn to breath.

I need my turn to smile.

I need my turn to laugh.

I need my turn to think.

I need my turn to just be me.

I need my turn to remember that I love those around me, and love taking a little bit of my turn time.

And it is OK!!!