All Shook Up.

Did you shake at 10:15 this morning? Today was the Great Shake Out Drill in Utah. Daniel and I were in the temple and didn't feel a thing!! So I mostly forgot about it. But tonight I had one of my kids tell me about it. He said they got under their desks and held on. Then they listened to someone talk about earthquakes in Utah and watched a video. hmmmm. He had some anxiety. So we talked. And talked. And went over what situations we would be facing if we lived on the Eastern Seaboard, in the Midwest, in California. Heck! Utah seems like the safest place to me. We talked about the earth quakes I experienced while living in California. Scary stuff. But nothing bad happened to me. He asked about aftershocks. I said they are always smaller than the original quake. Like an echo. I told him that if there is an emergency, the safest place to be is here at home with me. The second safest place is school. They will help him. And if they are in school, at church, at a friend's or anywhere else, they will each be my first and only priority. And I will come as soon as it's safe to get to them. I told him I'd put together a school emergency kit for their backpacks. I told him what I'd put in it. Some snacks, a rain poncho, a light stick and a space blanket. I will also put in a letter from me and dad and a list of emergency numbers and other info. I told him that if he is okay after the initial emergency, he will need to look around and see if anyone around him needs help. Then he needs to help them. It will help pass the time until I get there. We talked about the reason for all these disasters-- Jesus is coming soon. We also talked about the reason for being prepared-- we want to be ready and safe. We prayed and I sent him to bed with his MP3 player. He was just listening to Choose the Right. Perfect. Peace after the shake out. And my heart, though shook up with the anxiety of my son, was at peace and filled with Joy.