Homeschooling a Hurricane

Just about everyone has something to say about the Katrina tragedy. I’ve read criticisms and praises, inspirational stories and horror stories. For me, it’s really hit home how ill-prepared we are for disaster. What a massive communications breakdown this country has had. I am not even able to stomach the thought of being stranded on a highway overpass, unable to feed my children for days.

Before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, we watched its path and answered L’s many questions about how hurricanes develop. After she hit, we took the opportunity to talk about disaster-preparedness and about giving to those in need. Through a business associate, we found someone who lives minutes from the Houston Astrodome and was taking donations of clothing, toys and personal care items directly to the victims. We spent an afternoon packing three large boxes full of toys and clothes. L was very concerned about what all those people would be doing at the Astrodome and he made sure to pack up crayons, paper, cards, balls, and board games.

As for disaster preparedness, the first thing that hit me is that we should strive to always keep our gas tank near full. Just imagine you actually have the means to get out of dodge when something horrible happens, but your tank is near empty and the gas stations are shut down.

Next, we made sure we have water, canned food (and a manual opener), a first aid kit, a radio, batteries, flashlights and sleeping bags ready to go. We also reviewed our family plan in case of a fire or robbery - getting out of the house, where to meet, how to call emergency numbers and more.

We talked about the kinds of disasters that might befall us. We live in an area that is typically free of weather-related disasters, so it would most likely be a nuclear bomb or bio-weapon. We didn’t go into a lot of detail with that because we didn’t want to completely freak him out – he was already pretty rattled. Later that evening, PHAT Daddy and I talked more about the politics of this fiasco and our own “economic” disaster-preparedness.

We decided that our family would re-visit these issues on a regular basis, lest we forget how vulnerable we are. Katrina has been a learning experience for us all.