Looking under the poster bed can reveal things. Long forgotten things. Footlockers, bins and totes are forever covered with dust. And I feel them saying: we are unused winter clothes for that one-day-you- might- need-them trip; we are the rare tools and items for projects to come; we are those you-will-organize-them-one-day photos by the hundreds; and finally, I am the long-forgotten earthquake emergency box.
Not sure what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that all the emergency necessities were there. Food, water, medicines, radio, toilet paper, cash, etc. A friend jokingly (or seriously) reminded me that I was missing my essential wine. When looking at expiration dates, I realized how long it had been since packing this box. What a blessing to not have needed it, I thought. But how did I forget all that I had packed just a few years ago?
The medicines and boxed milk were years past expiration. Some foods (human and pet) were also no longer usable. Other staples were fine and left a hopeful feeling of survivability for a few days if given the worst of disasters. Knowing this, plus emergency contact information left at consulate for family members, left me with a sense of peace.
Daylight savings time was instituted in the US in 1918 (another infamous pandemic year) and is now commonly associated with the reminder to change the batteries in home smoke alarms. Some insurance providers have also reminded that it is a good time to clean gutters, check furnace and water heater, and restock emergency kits. Even though living where the time does not change, we are connected to those who do. The annual “Fall back” message will now be my restock message. I hope and pray that we never actually need the box of supplies, but if we do, it will be ready. This was not intended to become another New Year’s Resolution, but it is now.