By Jenny Wagner, Cedar Rapids
How to Tackle a Catastrophe
– If you experienced the catastrophe firsthand, start drinking water immediately. Your body is going through a post-trauma response and may be in some shock. Begin hydration early.
– Purchase batteries, flashlights, lighters, charcoal and lighter fluid (if you have a charcoal grill), propane (if you have a gas grill), candles, ice, Gatorade, beer, Oreos.
– Get a full tank of gas.
– Tell people you will give them information and updates as you have them — too many questions or repeated questions provokes anxiety and frustration. If you become overwhelmed, ignore your phone and come back to it when you’re ready. Your family and friends don’t know it’s the fifth time someone’s asked if you have electricity in the last four hours, so don’t react harshly. Just put down your phone and breathe.
– Empty what’s left in your coffee pot including the filter with spent grounds.
– Gather portable chargers, laptops to charge phones.
– Limit conversations to need-to-know to conserve phone battery.
– Don’t force yourself to swallow casual slogans like “look on the bright side,” “find the silver lining” or “it could be worse.” These comments often add insult to injury when you’re in the thick of a crisis because it feels like it’s implying your experience is wrong and you are weak for being upset, scared, tired, stressed. Your experience of the event is legitimate and valid; let Hallmark print the platitudes. You do you.
– Photograph and dispose of refrigerated/frozen food.
– Set out cooler in a cool location away from sun, preferably lowest level.
– If you see a large group of people doing the same thing and you don’t quite know why (at a gas station, everyone’s buying ice, huh, that’s weird, maybe a party) — do what everyone else is doing. You buy the ice, too. You’ll discover the reason soon enough and hopefully before it’s too late.
– Keep a consistent location to place flashlights, lighters, candles, cooler, work gloves, lawn tools, portable chargers and cords to eliminate time lost looking for things used daily.
– Call your people and let them hear your voice even when you’re terrified. In a secondary way, your family and friends experience the devastation through caring about you, so let them help in any way you can see possible.
– Find a strainer or small plastic storage basket to drain water from the cooler. Place the strainer inside the cooler’s edge and tilt enough to let the water out. Add fresh ice.
– Rotate every other day between outdoor labor/clean-up and inside cleaning/organizing to give your body a rest, recover from the weather and not let one area of the recovery consume you or one area fall to neglect. Everything can take turns and eventually progress will occur.
– Ask for and accept help.
– Heat leftovers on the grill in a glass container.
– Make sure all important work, especially showering, is done by sunset.
– Check in with neighbors, and let them check on you, but be mindful of when you start to feel crowded or irritated by their constant presence/conversation and honor personal boundaries.
– Set up a drying rack or outdoor clothesline pole to dry hand-washed clothing, or call your mom.
– If there is a volunteer opportunity, make an effort. When it’s all over, you’ll be glad you reached outside yourself at least once.
– Cry when you need to. Pull over if you’re crying while driving.
– Be aware of thoughts and try to shift your mindset: “I’m so annoyed to have three bikes in my kitchen” versus “I’m so glad I was able to rescue our three bikes and keep them safe.”
– Look for ways to adapt. (My garage became hazardous so any garage item I saved was organized into a shelving unit in my basement. I used an empty shoe box to store things from my fridge that didn’t necessarily require refrigeration. I can’t put my garbage container where it normally goes so I found a new, convenient location to keep it.) Small adjustments can be empowering when working to stabilize your circumstances.
– Trust the process. Restoration experts will show up. Volunteer help will arrive. Insurance will apply. Work will get done. Trust that there are structures in place that are meant specifically to accompany you on this journey. You are not alone.
– Give yourself a recovery curfew. For example, once it’s 6 p.m., try to enjoy normal activities. Eating, reading, walking, visiting someone, watering a plant, etc.
– Pray.
This article was originally published in Little Village issue 286.
