It feels like I am the only person on the east coast who is relatively calm about this impending weather event.

It’s Sunday evening in the Northeast and if you hadn’t already heard, a hurricane is on its way. For almost a week, we have been receiving warnings, updates, advice, and information about how to prepare and what to expect if and when the storm actually hits us.  At first, the stream of information about the storm was coming at me from many directions and as I capped off another incredibly busy work week, the idea of getting prepared felt overwhelming and nerve-wracking.

It’s no wonder people in the Northeast are worked up.  This time last year a storm was headed our way, but no one anticipated a snow storm at the same time.  No one could have predicted up to ten days without power.  The day after the October storm hit, we had planned to celebrate our new baby daughter and were expecting family and friends to join us. Instead, the power was out for eight straight days.  And eight days without power is a long time. Because no one was prepared for the aftermath of the storm, it was disastrous. The power company made promises it could not keep, people felt frustrated and hopeless, and the landscape looked apocalyptic in places.

Even though we knew the power would return, not knowing when we’d be back on the grid was disconcerting.  Every day that passed, I tried to remind myself that in other places in the world, access to reliable power and dependable infrastructure is tenuous at best.  We have skilled professionals trying to keep us safe AND trying to predict the forces of nature.  If they get it right, they’ll be heroes and if they miss the mark, we will eventually get over it.

This storm might be a different animal.  It could wage even greater destruction that last year’s storm.  And somehow, I’m still pretty calm. We have groceries, clean laundry, and our phones are charged.  This year we have even more time to prepare and even better information.  We’ll ride this one out.

And if all else fails, I’ve got a cousin with a generator.