Preparations

Yesterday afternoon I attended a meeting about preparations in the village for the approaching hurricane. And now here I am at 2 in the morning, wide awake, thinking about all the details of that meeting.

There's so much that goes into the running of a municipality and the heads of all our departments are very competent at their jobs. The highway superintendent talked about getting in an extra fuel delivery and the police spokesman about additional personnel, for instance. But once I was assured that everything was being well taken care of and plans were in place for all possible contingencies, my mind began to wander to my own house and belongings. And those are the things that keep me awake at this hour.

I'm thinking about the furniture that has to be put away, the flower pots on the deck, the awning that's out, and the trees in the yard. I'm thinking of the rain we're going to get and worrying about flooding in our basement. And of course I'm thinking about my children and worrying about the things they're already worrying about. Being a mother means never being able to let them worry on their own! I wonder if my son has figured out what to do with his sailboat, for instance. I know he's grown up now but do we ever really think they can manage everything in their lives without us? I suppose we don't want to! And of course being in the insurance business I'm thinking about my husband and the work he'll be doing next week to take care of his customers.

It looks as though we're going to get this storm one way or another. The most we can hope for is that it moves a bit to the east of us and we only deal with the outer bands, which will be damaging enough. The worst will mean a direct hit and its been awhile since that's happened here. I know we'll survive it but I hate to think of all the clean-up and mess it will leave behind, and in a way it will signal the end of the summer. Once you've put all the outdoor furniture away and the flowers pots have been stripped clean it's hard to get back into summer mode, even though the weather may be beautiful for another month.

This may be the last few days of our summer mentally here on the east end. If Hurricane Irene pays us a visit the skies will clear and the winds die down but our heads will already be into the fall.