Sandy is all the rage at the moment. Watching some radar shots, she has really basically arrived as of today, as most of the cloud cover we saw here is from her outer bands. Today wasn’t a bad day either- the clouds kept the temps down and the breeze kept things otherwise comfortable.
The lass first heard about Sandy at her dance class a couple of days ago. She’s been concerned about it ever since.
The boy also first heard about it on Thursday. He has also been worried about it ever since.
Tonight was the worst they’ve been, because the news was on at the restaurant we had dinner at and they kept showing various radar picture of Sandy. We couldn’t really hear what the talking heads were saying, for which I’m thankful.
The ask a lot of questions like “When will it get here?” and “How big will it be?” and “Will there be a lot of rain?” We do our best to answer those, but them they try to pump more detail out of us. The questions start to drill down, “Will the wind knock down trees?” and “Will there be water in the basement?” and “What we have school?” and “Will it be worse than last year’s storm?” They also start to imagine possibilities, and ask “What if …?” questions.
I know, it’s only natural. It’s how they deal with the stress and anxiety of the situation. Kids are like little anxiety antennas: if there’s anything to get them going, they’ll pick it up and tune into it big time.
After a certain point, the Wife and I both get tired of these questions because there’s a simple reality: there’s nothing they can do. Or stated another way: it’s all on the Wife and I. For whatever happens, it’s the Wife and I that will have to deal with the problems. Be it water in bad places knocked down trees. Even the prep work is on us because the kids don’t know what should or shouldn’t be done. After all, how many emergencies have they had to handle in their little lives?
We enlist their help where appropriate. They did some grocery shopping this morning and they helped clean up a bit outside today and we’ll do more of that tomorrow. Mainly, though, the Wife and I are trying to keep them on an even keel. Th worst thing to do is panic, and that’s where they’d go if left to their own devices. So it becomes a game of settle down, stop imagining the worst that can happen and just take it one step at a time.
The storm will get here when it gets here. The rain will fall and the wind will blow. Everything else that happens will happen. That makes it sound pretty matter-of-fact and boring. Which is good because boring is not something that kids get too excited about, as opposed to “Bride of Frankenstorm” and whatever else they’re calling it.