Well, I’ve now been “blooded” by a hurricane – I guess that makes me a real Floridian now. I, along with many others, became more frenzied by the day as the weathermen and women made their predictions and hyped the destruction inevitably headed our way. Since Rick died, I haven’t been watching much TV, even the news, but I found myself glued to The Weather Channel and a Tampa station hour after hour.

I keep this prayer from the Episcopal Church’s Book of Common Prayer taped to my computer screen, and I read it each day as Irma approached:

This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth,
But make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be.
If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely.
If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly.
If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently.
And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly.
Make these words more than words,
And give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.

This prayer brought me comfort when Rick was still with me, too.

I make lists. For years I drove Rick crazy with my endless to-do lists and now I have one for hurricanes. What to pack, what to store safely within the house, what to have loaded in the car for evacuations – it’s all typed up in excruciating detail. I had a full gas tank, food and water; however, I did not anticipate guests. Friends of mine live on the Gulf coast and faced mandatory evacuation, so they came to my house for a night. Fortunately I had a big container of frozen homemade soup I could defrost – so that’s a lesson for me to have more food on hand for the next hurricane. I have quite a few bottles of wine, too, but it didn’t seem wise to imbibe while the winds howled.

News flash: I have fallen in love with Bob – waterBOB to be exact. One of my friends recommended these tub liner bags as a way to not only store up water, but potable water. I ordered a couple from Amazon.com before Irma began to affect deliveries. A Florida lady can’t have too many BOBs in her life!

As I write this post, it seems so poignant that today is September 11. Just sixteen years ago we watched in horror as the World Trade Center towers fell, the Pentagon was attacked and a plane was brought down in Shanksville, counting our blessings that we and our family were safe. Today I am safe, my house held up well in the storm and the power remained on, but I cannot reach some of my other Florida friends and I know their day(s) are not as pleasant.

This is another day, O Lord.