Come On Irene...

Image Credit: NASA

Well Friends,

It looks like Irene is heading our way.  Some say it's no big deal... the weather people are never right, others say we'd better get prepared to hunker down for a few days and ride it out.  Several predictions say that CT will experience near Cat. 1 winds/rain with Irene.  I guess we'll see come Sunday when she makes her arrival.

Last night Mike went to the store, we stocked up on food (some perishable despite my warning, and some non-perishable).  Mike has a plan, so he says, so I won't argue.  The last time Milford got hit with a big storm was Hurricane Gloria.  Mike talks about it like I talk about storms we had in Florida as a kid.  It's exciting and scary and wild all in one.  I just hope Irene isn't as intense.  I can handle the rain, and I can even appreciate the fun and excitement of a brief power outage.  And if there's no lightening, I'd even go out to play in the rain.  But I'd rather not watch my car swim away, nor see boats sailing up our street being pushed by the mighty ocean. 

As a kid, I remember sitting by the TV or radio and waiting for the updates.  Will it hit us?  Will it miss us?  Please give us a day off of school.  See, in Florida, there is absolutely NO chance of a snow day or a school delay.  We prayed for hurricanes and tropical storms.  Not the super damaging and deadly ones, but the ones that dumped enough rain and wind for the powers-that-be to decide that we shouldn't be standing at a bus stop.  Oh yea! Hurricane day!  We'd be stuck to the TV the day before listening to that shrill tone of the emergency broadcast system and looking at images like this:

and this:

Well... not much has changed.  I have the weather alert on my desktop at work, on my phone, and am listening to NPR all day waiting for updates.  Will it come?  When?  How strong?  And part of me takes pride in imparting my "I've done this many times before" knowledge on Mike as we prepare for Irene.  I too went to the store last night for batteries, candles, a bigger flashlight, and more water.  My camera battery is charged (because I will surely blog the photos I get) and we have cards and magazines aplenty to keep us entertained.

So, we'll move the grill inside, we'll take the patio furniture to the basement, we'll prepare the ice chests, and wait to see what this lovely lady brings us.  I hope you all are safe and that your friends and loved ones in Irene's path will be too.  And if I'm lucky, Mother Yale might grant us a Hurricane Day just to fulfill my childhood wishes. 

Staying tuned,

Whitney