Just a year ago, Illinois was pummeled with over 24 inches of snow, drifts hitting in the area between 3 and 4 feet. Originally, the snow began on a year ago today. The aftermath of the blizzard where the cleanup of that major dumping of snow was the next day. While the aches of sore muscles eased and the blisters healed in record time, we can still remember that snowfall like it was yesterday. While the mainstream media warned all of us that the winter of 2011-2012 was going to be just as bad, if not worse as the blizzard that hit us on February 2011... we became better prepared. I find it interesting that hindsight is 20/20. All it takes is for one incident where we were not as prepared as we should be to overcompensate in the future.
DH and I are the perfect example of learning from something the first time.... well, maybe more me than him. He just benefits from what I think up. Here are a few examples...
Living in a flood zone where the local government has zero ambition to actually seek out a superior solution or even find more competent engineers to create better solutions, we have mastered a system of cleanup that people find interesting. Sadly, in order for DH to make any investment in things to make life a little easier required for me to purchase them as Christmas gifts.
Our first year of marriage, I bought DH a snow blower. Seeing him moan and complain about shoveling our driveway, albeit is not all that long, but is quite wide. While the winters before DH and I got married were quite mild, I knew that it was just a matter of time that a major dump of snow will happen. It was quite funny that after he opened his gift of a snow blower, we had a 12 inch snowfall just days later. He definitely put some use out of that machine.
After getting married and being moved in to the home he purchased before I met him, we experienced our first flood together. Prior to me being there, DH had a system of avoiding getting flooded, but it was just a matter of time he would miss the opportunity to close the sewer valve before it backs up. I had purchased a carpet cleaner just after getting our dog, Molly. Basically for the sole purpose of cleaning up during potty training, but became his go-to item when we did flood. After seeing him use that machine once after a flood, he got a shop vac that pumps out the water for his next gift. Of course, I did get a new carpet cleaner. There was no way I was going to use that one again.
After seeing him make endless trips to the garage for tools he needed to fix things around the home, I took it upon myself to get him a toolbox for home and started filling it with tools he needed. Yet another Christmas gift that lacked personality, but became a necessity.
One time, we had a major storm blow through our town. The power was knocked out for 4 days. While I could not predict something like that happening, I was the one who sought out where to get a generator. With a little help from my neighbor, as I look to the heavens to thank him again, we got a generator and are now better prepared every time the power goes out (which is fairly often in my neighborhood). Fortunately, DH set it up in a way that we can have general power throughout the house with one plug used. Can't have the AC on, but saving the food in the fridge, run the TV, limited usage of lights, and keeping the hard-wired sump pump on the ready is more appreciated.
I just wonder.... Since we have been a more prepared home for natural disasters, I wonder if DH will ever allow us to be better prepared for other potential disasters. We do not have a bomb shelter, we do not have a stockpile of food and water in our home, and we do not have a plan in action shall a serious event happen. Not saying that our lessons learned over the years haven't been beneficial, but I would think it would not hurt to plan ahead a little more. Well, maybe not a bomb shelter, but you never know with how things are escalating.
While a year can make a huge difference... More people have snow blowers and generators than years past. They are better prepared because all it took was for one time they had to make due with what they had to realize that they were in need of these things. What is more interesting is that even though people make the investments for these things, they may not be utilized as often as they would think. The snowfall made us better prepared this time around, but we actually did not need to use them because weather is so unpredictable. While a year ago, we had frigid temps and heavy snowfall. This year has been far milder with days that neared the 60 degree mark and much smaller snow fall amounts. It is just a little more comforting to know that you are prepared compared to not, right? Just to think how much a person can learn over a year makes it just that much more exciting to see where that knowledge will take us.
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