Friday, September 11, 2015

What do you really see?

I pride myself on being fairly observant.  When called out by my children (who else…) about “never noticing anything,” my response is always that I noticed, but that I simply chose NOT to say so.  Believable or not, we often DO tick off things in our heads as “done, done and done” but may not be.

So, you think you are pretty observant?  Watch this video and see how good you really are:

Yeah, I think I am pretty smart and I only saw one thing! [And it wasn’t the bear!]  It made me wonder – do we really just SEE ourselves as prepared for [fill-in-the-blank] emergency, but aren’t?  So, in honor of September, National Preparedness Month, I am giving you a little “cheat sheet” that I used to make sure I am prepared.  How would yours go?

I THINK I AM PREPARED
I ACTUALLY AM PREPARED
THE CAR

I know I have water
I recently counted the bottles and I have 8 full bottles
I have a first aid kit
I opened the first aid kit and placed a new box of large bandages in there
I have food
I found a half-eaten can of nuts, which I had to finish, then I put a new one in my car.
I have extra shoes
THAT’S WHERE THEY WENT!!! Put in a pair of shoes that I don’t wear very often.

I THINK I AM PREPARED
I ACTUALLY AM PREPARED
THE OFFICE

I know I have water
I had 2 bottles (who drank all my water!) so I put 6 more under my desk.
I have a first aid kit
I opened the first aid kit and replaced the Avengers bandages with Star Trek. Of Course.
I have food
I had Goldfish, 4 bags of fruit snacks, 24 bars of granola bars and 9 Hershey bars. And one Ghirardelli Cherry Tango Dark Chocolate bar.  OK, now I don’t.
I have extra shoes
I liked the ones from the car better, so I switched.

I THINK I AM PREPARED
I ACTUALLY AM PREPARED
HOME

I know I have water
I have two 30 gallon barrels and they need to be refilled.  Get with it, Sue!!!
I have a first aid kit
I have enough first aid material for a small mass casualty event. Bring it on.
I have food
I have lots of canned food and freeze dried fruit.  And 4 large cans of baked beans.  Note: Add Beano to the first aid kit!
I have extra shoes
I have enough shoes to make Imelda Marcos smile.  And they are everywhere it seems.  Ok.


There is much more to add to each kit, of course, but that’s it.  Just use those keen observation skills to grab all of those other items you think you might need in whatever emergency situation – from a blackout to a large magnitude earthquake.  Be prepared, my friends.