Preparing for The Next Crisis

In March 2019, when the Covid pandemic hit were you prepared? I definitely was not. I was teaching at the time and our headmaster told us we were to gather everything that we needed to teach from home, our tech director had prepared a booklet on how to use zoom, and we all headed into lockdown. Recently, I reflected on what worked well during the pandemic and what would I do differently if we were faced with another situation like that.

Establish communication with others

One of the things that saved me during the early weeks of the lockdown was a communication connection with colleagues and students. The ladies at my school formed a group me chat group and it was a Godsend because we could support each other, ask questions about how to do something, and ask if anyone else was having connection issues. While I was sitting alone in my quiet office the link to my friends kept me calm.

I also established links of communication with my students. I had a group me group for each class, and all my students gave me their cell phone numbers, and I gave them mine. It was perfect when someone needed to tell me they were having trouble connecting, and they also used it to send me classwork. It allowed me to have another way to connect besides zoom. One day a student’s computer would not connect, so we facetimed through the class. The students were very scared in the beginning, so the connection eased their anxiety a little.

Check-in on your friends and family. I found myself asking the question, “How are you doing?” often. Mental health was an important issue.

Fill your pantry

We were lucky that I’m a little bit of a prepper even when everything is going well because our pantry is always full of easy-to-make meals. You don’t have to break your budget, but when you go shopping grab one or two extra boxes of something you might need if we have issues.

Keep extra water

I wrote an article, I Might Be a Prepper, and a reader commented that it is always a good idea to throw an extra package of water in your cart. I think it is a great idea to have plenty of water on hand.

Buy lanterns/candles/batteries/blankets

Have the essentials for emergencies on hand. You can use them for storms, or any time we might lose power. Store extra blankets in the closet. I love to knit and crochet, so they are everywhere in our house.

Start a garden

A garden is easier to grow than you think. Buy some seeds and water, and voilà it won’t matter if the store is out of lettuce. If you think you don’t have room remember you can grow plants in containers. During the winter, root vegetables will grow outside, and you can grow others inside. I have a hydroponic garden as well.

Work on your health

It is always possible that a virus will kill you, but I’m not going down without a fight, and that means taking care of yourself to the best of your ability. Move your body, and fuel it with healthy food.

Pray

Prayer is powerful and it can bring a sense of peace.

I hope this list gives you a few ideas of things you can do to prepare for our next emergency.