Be Prepared, Not Scared

I'm writing late on Sunday night, when weather conditions here are mercifully a lot calmer than I thought they'd be.  We were lucky not to feel much of Hurricane Irene's wrath, but many of my friends and relatives in other states weren't so lucky, with power outages and property damage and many other inconveniences.

Gearing up for this storm, I felt prepared on most basic levels, but found it difficult to prepare Anna for what potentially could be a scary experience.  Granted, the toddler level of understanding is evolving, but limited, so there was only so much I could say to help her know what to expect without freaking out.