SO – apparently neither Josh nor I are being called on as essential, so scratch our prior plan! (Our hospital DOES house families – though not pets – but only if you are essential, and while we thought vascular was on that list, it’s actually not, as the trauma & general surgeons cover).
So, we will be sparing our health system the mayhem of our 3 kids (and their associated germs). While I was sort of bizarrely excited about the plan of covering in the hospital, this will be easier from a parenting perspective. By a long shot.
THAT SAID – the storm may not actually hit us, and no warnings/etc have been issued for our area. So we might actually just get very very lucky, and I hope that no one north of us gets it bad, either. I guess this is all just part of the unpredictability of living in FL.
I think the winter months (really 6 months, Nov – April) are worth it, as are our jobs and proximity to Josh’s family. And I really really do not like the cold. But I get why many people prefer not to live here.
We do not have our shutters up yet, because we are waiting to see if an official hurricane watch is issued for our area. But I’m actually feeling more relaxed for whatever reason. Going to round & see patients now. Sending positive vibes and thoughts to others in FL (and other potentially impacted areas!).
PS: I have one tip for anyone living in a hurricane zone. DO NOT watch your local news. Stick to the NHC website, with their cone graphics and objectively presented data. The news is (understandably) hoping you will freak out and leave it on, and tends to portray the worst case scenarios. I’m not arguing against preparation, but I have found that it is not productive to look at sites with a bias towards making you look more. I drove myself crazy looking at CNN repeatedly during Irma and am trying very hard not to do that this time!
4 Comments
Relieved for you!!
I agree so much with you on the local news! I live in Seattle, and anytime there is a chance of snow they go crazy. I stick to getting my snow forecasts from a local blogger who’s a meteorology professor at the University of Washington. Hes always down to earth, honest when it’s a marginal forecast with lots of uncertainty – plus his use of probabilities appeals to my engineering brain 🙂 My mom lives in Boca, so I’m with you on hoping it jogs back out to sea.
I’m so glad things seem to have taken a different direction! I will continue to think good thoughts and hope this whole storm can fizzle out at sea.
I also completely agree with you on the local news. I’m in Michigan, so every winter the TV meteorologists act like it’s armageddon every time it snows (which is, you know, often). My dad calls them “weather terrorists.” 🙂
Related to your tip (because I 100% agree) — for FL residents, the Florida Storms app is awesome. It’s produced by the FL public radio network, so it is fact-based and not sensationalized, and it links to the NHC and NOAA.