virtual beguine

Not every woman in this world has the support of a family or even a large group of “chosen” family (also known as good friends) – and we all know that we are way too busy to always think of every eventuality.

So when I ask if you have an emergency plan, I am not talking about nuclear war, or a tornado, or some wildly catastrophic disaster (although I plan on addressing some of that later).

I am talking about what happens if, while you are at work, your apartment building burns down.

Or your car decides to die on the freeway at rush hour.

Or your kids (if you have them) have an active shooter and are evacuated from their school.

Do you have someone who will call you if there’s an emergency?

Do you have a plan for your kids and/or pets if you can’t get home?

Who will help you if you break a leg? Or need to be in the hospital for a procedure?

No I don’t have answers – I do have some suggestions, for right now while you are thinking of it – if any of these questions made you uncomfortable and worried – then it is time to make some plans.

It might be as simple as telling your kids that if something happens at school and you can’t come pick them up, they should wait at the library or at a trusted friend’s house and they should text you to confirm where they will be.

Or perhaps you have a trusted friend that you’ve given a key to your apartment/house and can go feed the pets and provide care with some planning and agreement.

Having a plan doesn’t mean figuring out all eventualities, but addressing what is most likely and figuring out how to deal with it before it is an emergency.

For example if you have a good house/pet sitter, you can probably make arrangements with them to be on call if there’s an emergency. Or even schedule them to do a comfort visit for your animals on days you know you will be working late.

You might know someone who works from home or is retired, nearby, that you could approach with a mutual assistance plan in case of emergency. Make sure you have their names and phone numbers in your cell phone.

Make sure you have something in your wallet that tell the EMTs that you have children and/or pets at home.

If you have had an experience like the ones mentioned above, please share how you dealt with it.

If you already have a plan, let us know how it came about and what you considered.