Make a plan...but write it in pencil!

At the beginning of every week (usually on a Sunday), I write a new note in my phone called “Weekly Tasks”. I then make bullet point lists of the main things to do each day. This gives me a snapshot of what my week would look like, and gives more clarity of how free my day might be. Of course I love the days that are scanty, but I also have the opportunity to move something to a different day if needed without overloading it.

This week, Monday’s list was the longest, but there were a couple of non-negotiables in there. Very soon after waking up, I learned of the traffic in Cocorite caused by a free eye clinic, so my training plans in Diego Martin around midday were squashed. I started my work and after about an hour, heard the familiar cackling of a bush fire, except it sounded VERY close. A couple of loud cracks told me this fire was much closer than I thought. I ran outside with Mummy to realise - with HORROR - that the fire was right next door to us, in their bamboo, which was right next to our bamboo patch. You know that’s a potential disaster waiting to happen. The fire got fierce quickly, and attempts to call 990 were futile, as it kept saying call failed. Many attempts were made (by everyone who saw the fire blazing) to every single possible emergency service. When I called 811, I was put on hold while being transferred to the fire department…..for 5 minutes! I hung up and tried again, and when the lady tried to put me on hold again I got quite frantic, to which she replied “Ma’am, I have to transfer you, this is the medial department.” I tried to call Wrightson Road fire department, but the recording said the mailbox is full. I finally called Belmont Police Station and the police officer told me she just saw a fire truck pass by so they’re "probably coming there.” At that moment I heard the truck in the distance, but not before the police officer told me “but you could call 990”. Steups.

ALL THIS TIME, guess what was happening with the fire? My mother on our side of the wall, another neighbour on their side of the wall, the neighbour who lives in the house, and apparently a bunch of neighbours from the Community Centre opposite were all using any means possible to put out the fire, with hoses (draining the tanks!!!) or buckets. That’s the ONLY reason the fire didn’t spread like crazy. The fire truck took half an hour to arrive, stayed for fifteen minutes, left, then came back later to put it out some more. Granted, when they showed up they were quite efficient and did what they had to do. The neighbourhood community was absolutely amazing, and the wider community surrounding the area.

In the end, it took about an hour for the ordeal from start to finish before everything was calm again. Not much time in the wider scheme of things, but instantly I knew that my longish list of things to do didn’t matter so much. Whatever could get done would get done, and the rest of it would simply have to move to another day because I needed time to recover from that drama.

When I realised the fire was raging, I went into my room to grab my essentials and prepare for evacuation if needed: passport and wallet, laptop and some electronics/chargers, and basic clothes. I changed my clothes to pants with pockets for my phone and keys, brushed my teeth and put on sneakers in case I needed to run, and put the car keys in my pocket. I put the bags outside. All very practical. (Yes, I thought about my bikes but good sense prevailed that in life or death, they aren’t that important!) My mother on the other hand sprang into action to get the hose, barefoot in her nightie. Both very different approaches, but we each had a plan of action. In chatting with her afterwards, I realised our actions were not a result of instinct, but a plan we each had unconsciously that we carried out immediately when the situation arose. There have been many times I told myself that if I needed to leave the house, my passport would be a priority. Of course on this day I had more time to think about different things because our house was not affected, we were just on high alert. Mummy had her plan because she recounted many years of having to hose down the yard or bamboo due to frequent bush fires when we were younger and the land opposite was all bamboo. Ultimately I think we made a good emergency team because we had different thought processes that were both helpful (although Mummy pointed out that I didn’t pack HER bag!!! I put her phone in my bag though!) It reiterated for me the importance of having a plan for situations - especially emergency ones - but also realising that your plans can change at any minute, so flexibility is needed.

It is just after 11 and now that everything has officially calmed down, I can now go and have some breakfast and see what agenda items I have to shift to another day, because I need a breather!!! Time to go do some nervous system reset work and take it easy for the rest of the day!

Anyway, the whole point of this is that after the fiasco, I remembered two sayings:

   1. Write your plans, but make them in pencil. Things can change, and giving your schedule some wiggle room can allow for this to not be as stressful if it happens.

2. Preparation is key. Know what you want to react in a situation. Do family drills if you need to or have a plan of action in place. It helps!

My "quick escape" bags, ready to go outside the door!