Getting Ready for the Big One

One week into Little A's summer school session, the teachers sent home a letter that informed parents that each child must bring an emergency kit packed with food, water, comfort objects, a flashlight, whistle and emergency contact information to school as part of their earthquake and disaster preparedness initiative.

Apart from finding out that your child is seriously ill or disabled, nothing can be more sobering for a parent that having to prepare such a kit. 

It took me over two weeks to get Little A's things together, and I am still waiting for his plastic Emergency Contact card to arrive. Knowing his challenges, I included a notebook and pencil, a pair of scissors for his box of cornflakes, a handheld bell on a key ring (he has a hard time blowing a whistle) and broke the safety seals on his bottles of water. 

Even still, I hesitate to send the bag to school because there might be something else I've missed out. Or maybe I don't want to accept the reality that Doomsday might happen when our family is separated. 

The students and teachers spent the summer school session running repeated earthquake drills in between academic sessions. Better safe than ignorant, particularly in a school with a significant population of young special needs pupils.

So Little A is as prepared as he can be. He is actually safer in his one storey school that I am in my ground level shop at the mall, or Big A in his low-rise office building. 

I've also updated our home emergency kit and put togeher one each for our cars. Now we can only hope and pray that the Big One doesn't happen in this lifetime.