And Then I Stepped in Gum . . .

Ivan Cometh...

So by this time tomorrow, we should be well into the adventure that is Hurricane Ivan. Although landfall isn't supposed to happen until very early Thursday morning, landfall means the time that the eye hits the continent, so by then we'll have been pummelled with the first half of the storm already.

The latest predictions show Ivan's track going exactly over Mobile, so maybe we'll get to experience the eye. My mom has memories of being in the eye of a hurricane when she was a child, and she says it's eerie, like a solar eclipse. Heck, I'll wake up to see what that looks like.

I'm feeling pretty antsy about this storm. I was fine until everyone around me started freaking out. I mean, we live in a brick house, don't have any large, heavy trees around us, and aren't at the bottom of a hill, so how bad could it be? But then the gotta-get-water-and-batteries-and-plywood-and-duct-tape phenomenon started, and I was caught up in it. Yes, I was out this morning at a surprisingly not very crowded Home Depot (considering how bad I'd heard it was on Monday) buying propane for the grill and four rolls of duct tape to put Xes on the windows (we only used about 1/3 of one roll -- perhaps I was a little overzealous?). The lines inside HD weren't so bad, but I think that's because they set it up so that you could only buy plywood by waiting in line in your car. That line stretched all the way around the giant store and about a mile beyond, down a main street. We didn't get any plywood, considering that A) we have no way to transport it and 2) we wouldn't know what to do with it if we did get some. So we're going to hope that the Xes work, and if not, we've got some plastic drop cloths and tarps we can use.

We're setting up a walk-in closet as Hurricane Central -- in there go the lantern, flashlights, batteries, radio, sleeping bags, and books and toys and games. I'm hoping we won't feel the need to use it -- it's not a very big walk-in closet for four people -- but at least we'll have it if we need it.

We're not planning on evacuating due to the storm, because I think we'd just be better off here, but I have to say, if we end up not having electricity for a significant length of time, a trip to Disney may just be in order. I'd rather be in an air-conditioned hotel with computer access and paying money for the privilege than hanging out and sweating at home with cranky children. (Dave thinks I'm optimistic if I think going to Disney would prevent the cranky children part; he's probably right.)

Sorry, this isn't a very lighthearted post -- you can probably tell I'm a little angsty. Here's the funny for today, though. Katie came home with a scrape on her knee, and proceeded to tell me that she'd gotten it because the sandbag she was carrying was too heavy and it made her fall over. What?!? A sandbag? Yep -- it seems they had the kindergartners going out to the playground, filling bags with sand, and bringing them into the classroom to protect it from flooding. Geesh, if they're going to use my kid for child labor, I think I want a partial refund on the tuition! The image of a "fire line" of kindergartners hauling sandbags just cracked me up. Poor Katie thought we were laughing at her falling over, when really we were just in disbelief at the situation.

Gotta love living in the South. Bring it on, Ivan!

posted by Jennifer Morgan, at 8:44 PM