It seems as though it has been weeks since reports about Hurricane Sandy first started to appear all over the news and all other forms of media. In reality, it has only been about a week since coverage of the storm and its anticipated path started. If you are a parent of young children, you may certainly be concerned about keeping your family safe. However, you are probably equally concerned with keeping the kids calm.
When everybody is preparing for a storm like Sandy, things look and feel different wherever you go. Little ones can see and feel the differences in their environment, so parents can not simply hope that the kids are none the wiser so that they can avoid having to discuss what is going on. I have been doing my best to help Dylan understand what is going on by explaining to him over the past few days that a storm is coming. I have told him in very simple terms, and in a non – dramatic tone about things like heavy rain and strong wind. Of course, I have not yet mentioned the snow, as I am reluctant to acknowledge to myself that we live somewhere where snow is definitely a possibility.
I have also mentioned that we could lose electricity for a while, and I have explained that we simply do things a little bit differently when the electricity is not working. Since we experienced Hurricane Irene last year, I have let him know that he has experienced a hurricane before and that everything was okay. We went to the store a few days ago and picked up some bottled water. Today, we went in the evening to get a few more things and I was relieved that there were not any more people in the store than would normally be there because I did not want him to see crowds of panicked people fighting for supplies. I am glad that I got the water the other day because there was no more bottled water today.
Since we do not have television, Dylan has not seen any of the news stories about the hurricane. He is so young, and if I did have television I would not have the news on while he is awake anyways because it could make him anxious. He is a very perceptive and sensitive little guy. More than anything, though, I have been reminding myself to remain calm. If I am calm, then he will sense that. If I am not calm, he will feel anxious no matter how many reassuring words I say to him because he would sense the incongruency between my words and my mood.
We are prepared for the storm both physically and mentally. I hope that everyone, everywhere is also prepared and that we all get through the storm safely.
Photo by kaelcarp on morguefile.com.