Bomb Prevention 8 Areas to Watch

                                                                                             By Jeanette Vale

We’ve all been a young parent or, at the least, we own a bladder. Either way, you can relate to this story.    

I was at Costco pushing a cart through the store when my child began begging,  ‘mom, I need to go potty!’. 

I ignored the cries, because I was determined to have a fast in-and-out shopping trip.

Surely, my child's bladder would hold!  But she was four – and I was about to find out what that meant.

But before this,  I had driven to Costco in a really smooth quiet rental car.  So during all of what happened inside the store, I had a car running, keys in the ignition, and all four doors locked, outside of the store.

I don’t realize any of this because…yeah.

The Day a Bomb Went off in Costco

I did finally get my child onto the toilet.  I’m trying to remember how I shifted gears to this priority, because, it became a priority!  It was probably a smell.

It wasn’t number one.  It was the other, and  I’m going to refer to it as pink cotton candy.  

There was pink cotton candy everywhere.  

My little daughter was placed on the toilet and covered in it.  Her shirt and pants were destroyed.  It was inside and outside of her shoes.  It was all over the toilet seat.  There was no salvaging any of her clothing. I took everything off  and put it in the trash can.   I cleaned her and ground zero with wet paper towels.  

My poor child was quiet.  She felt guilty (why? It was my fault!).  I hope I hugged her that night.   She had given me fair warning several times. Negligence is the stuff of disasters.

My eight year old son was outside the women’s bathroom waiting for us.  I went to him. 

“Son, I need you to stand guard, your sister is in there alone. I need to buy her new clothes.” 

He was in his Cub Scout Uniform, he squared his shoulders and accepted the post.    The only clothing available was a bathrobe.  Paid for, done.  Let’s blow this joint!  

Oh wait…we just did. 

And then we got out to the parking lot to deal with not finding the car keys, then… finding the car keys.  Wow!  What a day!

God bless the AAA service men who have helped me over the years.   One particular man came to my rescue two days in a row!

And as he left that second time, he mumbled, “See you tomorrow”. 

Not a chance, Sir!  I am going to get my act together.  No more running out of gas, or locking keys inside!

Getting Our Act Together

I share this Costco story because it drives the point: 

Listen to warnings! 

Right before a bomb goes off, we usually have plenty of warning time.

Find ways to manage the roles and responsibilities you have so the chicken-dance-song isn’t your theme.  

Now you have that song stuck in your head, right?   Click on this image and you can learn the dance. Unless you want to stop doing the dance.  Then read on.   But actually for fun, do the dance.  Just to get your wiggles out.

Being in a hectic state is the number one killer of preparedness.

As we see what is coming down the pike and we prepare for it, we gain some peace and confidence.

I am an old mom now.  It has been many years since that Costco day.  I just took that daughter to college two weeks ago.  I hugged her as she wept at being in a dorm and not knowing anyone. 

A few nights later she sent me a video of new friends she made as they sang and laughed.  I cheered.

This old mom is different from the young mom.  I am a pro at bomb management.  I tackle stuff in the prevention stage as much as possible. I also say no, a lot.

Wow!  That is the best thing ever.  Old cranky people find it easy to say ‘no’.  Young people haven’t yet got this down.  But when you do.  You will be so glad.

I  value being prepared for life.  That is also why I work at Emergency Zone and I love the people here.  This is a great company, especially behind the scenes.  

Here are EIGHT areas I catch on paper  to keep me sane and organized.  This helps me be prepared for anything!  You are looking at my actual page.

1.  In this area I list small and fast things I need to do.
2. I look over the calendar.  What is coming up in the month?  Do I have everything in place before that event is here?
3. I jot calendar items today.
4. Promptings.  What thoughts come to my mind in answer to things I've prayed about?  This one is the most important one, to me.  It's like having a crystal ball.  If you can master just this one you will hit home runs.
5. What is nagging me?  What kept me up last night?  Who am I mad at? cleaning up the emotional bottleneck helps me to clearly hear what is being conveyed to me in step four.
6. What did I spend?  I later upload these numbers into a spreadsheet. I've gotten out of debt by holding myself accountable in this way.
7. Food plan for the day and then how many points I consumed.  How much water did I drink?  I draw an emoji face on how I felt about this day.
8. At the end of the day, on the back of the page,  I journal.  This allows me to catch emotional bumps.  For example,   Why did I spend that much money?  Why did I eat two slices of cake?  Why was I so mad at my spouse?  Or I record the funny, beautiful, and amazing.  Also doing a massive gratitude writing session is a major game changer.  When you are grateful, more of everything good comes to you.  You become a magnet.

I like to have this catch-all paper.  It is free.  Even if I don’t solve the problems, my brain is happy to have a dumping place.  

Some days I don’t feel like doing this.  I listen to that.  If I am missing out on the flow because I am doing this checklist, then I don’t do this and I just move through the day free. 

September is Preparedness Month

Life is full of the unexpected.  Bombs go off.  Some are small and others are catastrophic.  But the more solid we are in how we manage the day to day events and emotions, the better we are at getting up and dusting off. 

Emergency Zone Bug-out-bags and Survival Kits are great, but being prepared is more than just having a red backpack in a closet.  It is a whole system of fitness.

Are we Fit in our finances?   Can we walk from point A to point B without afibbing?  Are we emotionally resilient?  Can we mentally be present to help in a natural disaster? Do we have the education in place to keep our family on point to our evacuation place?  Do we know first aid?  

If we are doing the chicken dance instead, then maybe its time to slow down and grab a blank paper and pen.  This system has changed my life.  

We are happy to help families in getting prepared.  Don't forget that we have a Preparedness Guide.  If you have not had one yet, the first one is free to your home.  At $6.99 they make a great gift.