All of the Sudden!

This is a true story.

4 A.M. Ponce, Puerto Rico January 22, 2020 the bed shook. Books dropped on the floor in my home office. My wife was already packing a “to go” bag. Migo, my cute and small dog barked. This a first of multiple earthquakes and tremors for days and weeks.

We drove the car to a nearby park where others were parked. We waited to see what to do next. The couple across the street from the park had solar energy and invited us to stay there for a few nights. Whenever there was another earthquake everyone in the house stampeded to the street.

Our two sons insisted we come stay with them. The day before we left Puerto Rico, Migo got mauled by a pit bull. It took all my strength to beat on the dog to free the death grip he had on Migo. We rushed Migo to the animal hospital. Then, we continued doing all the final things to fly the next day.

The temperature drop was drastic – 85 in Puerto Rico, 30 in Ohio.  Migo was the only one who adjusted. We rotated from our the homes of our two sons and our oldest grandson.

THEN …

COVID19 hit. At first we barely noticed. Gradually, the Panera Bread where I got my early morning coffee had no indoor seating. Now there was no place to sit and no more free refills. By March, the April  wedding of our grandson was canceled. We did the dance with American Airlines to switch our return flight.

Back in Puerto Rico we experienced a crazy strict curfew – 7 P.M. to 5 A.M. with limited driving and shopping. Oh, and there the earthquakes kept coming. We were on survival with stress on steroids.

We slowly realized will be ongoing in the near future. Masks and social distancing became our “new normal.”

I had no plan or preparation for too many abrupt and sudden changes.  How about you?

We have a spare tire and jack for our car in case of a flat tire. Most of us have a first kit in our home. All public buildings have fire extinguishers in case of fire. We each need to have a plan and preparation to navigate future change and uncertainty.

Let’s come together to turn to one another so we each create our own Change Preparation Kit? Plan ahead to be ready for the challenges of new change. And, supporting one from now own.

What would be in your Change Preparation Kit?

NONE OF US IS AS SMART AS ALL OF US