The first week of the semester is always busy for both of us, since we both work in higher education. We knew this year would be different with COVID (we are both still working remotely full-time - Kevin's classes are all online this term), and then 2020 added an extra layer of craziness by having us need to watch not one but TWO storms in the gulf (and right at the 3 year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey).
Marco ended up fizzling out, but Laura became the storm to watch and we nervously waited and watched. Houston was lucky that it went east of us (as a CATEGORY 4), but it made for a nerve-wracking week, and my thoughts are with those who were impacted in Texas and Louisiana, including some members of my family. Everyone is safe, but dealing with damage (and a delayed baby arrival!) I also hate that part of me is relieved when a storm goes to another area, and not us.
We had a few days off because of the impending storm. With my 'office' literally steps away (I took over our dining room), I actually did quite a bit of work (our busiest time of year is fast approaching) but enjoyed the fact I could work on a projected uninterrupted (no meetings to log into and email responses could wait) and work when I want, take time away from screens when I wanted.
I have been dealing with hurricanes my whole life, and don't think I ever get used to them, and some of my hurricane prep is a bit random. I do what I can - car is gassed up, have some cash on hand, plenty of food and meds for us (and the dogs), flashlights, batteries, catch up on laundry just in case we lose power, etc. I also do somewhat silly things that make me feel more prepared - for example, I was trying to use up some random freezer/fridge things in case we lost power, and this week I baked cookies so if the power went out we had cookies and not raw dough (desserts are needed!) They were delicious :)
