Scenario One: The teen-ager that live a few doors down pulls out of the drive and heads by your house to go to school. Her cell phone rings, and as she pries it out of her pocket it falls on the floor. She reaches down to grab it, but in her distraction she rams the corner of the lawn chemical truck servicing your neighbor's house. Thankfully, she is wearing her seat belt and her airbag goes off. She is safe, but the truck is in the middle of the neighbor's lawn and the the tank of lawn chemicals has split open like a dropped watermelon. In a scene reminiscent of Batman, green goo is flowing down the neighbor's sloping yard across the drive and into your landscaping. As the police arrive, they ask you to leave your house until they can assess the risk and confirm the contents of the tank. The officer asks you to safely exit your home in the next five minutes. They have a hazardous materials crew and containment unit on the way, and they aren't sure when you'll be able to return. What do you grab on your way out the door?
Let's mix it up now.
Scenario Two: You plan to stay at work till 5:30 since the train was late getting you there this morning. Your 18 month old is at the company run daycare in your building, and your 12 year old just called to say his homework is done. Your husband is at a job site today and will try to be home in time for dinner at 6:30. A thunderstorm rolls through about 4:30 as predicted. Strong winds cut power to many homes and businesses, including some in your neighborhood. Your building is fine, but the sister office across town is without power, and all calls and transactions are forwarding to your site, leaving everyone a bit flustered. No one is answering the phone at home. When you try your husband's cell a message plays saying all circuits are busy. You take a ten minute break to run down and check on your daughter in daycare. She's fine, but two workers left due to storm related emergencies and you'll need to pick her up promptly at 5:00 pm. To make matters worse, they forgot to tell you yesterday that they are out of her baby food and are running low on diapers. And you just found out that flash flooding has closed one of the bridges you cross to get home.
I hope I'm not frightening you. I cannot predict these or any other scenario will happen to you, but they are events that will occur in some form, somewhere soon. Admittedly, they are both pretty dramatic, but I hope you can see that they are plausible. Knowing you have a plan will help you navigate both of these situations with some degree of confidence. Preparedness planning is a support that may sustain you through a difficult situation. Both of these situations emphasize the need for a pre-planned supply kit at home, at work, at daycare, and in the car (or your commuter bag.) Next Friday, we'll pick a bag that suits your needs.
This Series' Links
Functional Friday: Go Bag Part I - The Need
Functional Friday: Go Bag Part I - The Purpose
Functional Friday: Go Bag Part I - The Bag
Functional Friday: Go Bag Part I - The Basic Stuff
Functional Friday: Go Bag Part I - What's Next?
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