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What will you do when you get that call?

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A few days ago, my best friend got that phone call that everyone dreads.

Your daddy has had a heart attack. The doctors don’t think he’ll make it through the night.

GET. HERE. NOW.

She did what everyone would do. She grabbed enough for a road trip, threw it in the car and took off for a long drive. All she could think about was getting there as fast as possible.

On the way there, she called me to let me know what was going on. Trying to stay calm, she recounted the conversation and what details she knew. She told me later that she didn’t even think about food until she hung up the phone with me, about half-way through her drive. She was headed to a large military town, but it only has one grocery store chain and no health food stores. She has multiple food allergies and doesn’t fare well when exposed to an allergen.

Her daddy did make it through the night. She was having to go to her mom’s house do laundry and had to run by the store to buy basic necessities. She was then faced with the dilemma of having to go to the limited-selection grocery store and find safe food, figure out what to fix without having any of her recipes with her, find safe pots and pans to cook it in at her mom’s house, and keep it safe and segregated in the fridge while a trail of friends and family come through the home. It took time away from being at her daddy’s bedside and provided to be a considerable stress.

Of course, if you have a cast iron stomach and can handle fast food, pot-luck, or hospital cafeteria foods for as long as you need, you’re ok in the food department. But what about clothing? Toiletries? In a rush to get out the door, would you forget something? If you have children, would you have to suffer through their boredom and confusion while you’re going through what can arguably be considered one of the most stressful events in your life?

What would you do? You’re lucky if all of your family lives locally, you can just call a friend and have them swing by your house and drop off whatever you might need and you can run home for food and sleep. But if you have any family out of town, how can you prepare so that you don’t have to worry? Is it possible to just grab-and-go, knowing you have what you need?

You need a bug-out bag.

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The Harried Hundred Hats

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Child of God, woman, wife, help-meet, mother, daughter, friend, cook.
Chief cook and bottle-washer, housekeeper, laundress, cook, maid and nanny.
Small business owner, author, forum admin, cook, homeschooling mom, celiac, church member, traditional foods advocate, Attachment Parent, gardener, cook, chicken-mama, hobby homesteader, homebirther, student of herbs, midwifery enthsiast, cook.  Chelation patient.  A survivor, not a victim.
Knitter, crocheter, scrapbooker, baker, cook, seamstress, facebooker, blogger, cook, and very soon we’ll add political campaign volunteer to that list as a dear friend runs for a local office.

And, today, I was a woman wearing entirely too many hats.

Some of these hats are permanent, some are temporary.  Some of them look great on me; others, not so much.  Some I’m more than ready to kick to the curb.  Some of the hats fit too tight, some are too big and I still need to grow into them.  Some I have a total love-hate relationship with.  Sometimes the hats get stacked too high and become heavy, giving me a headache. And, sometimes, they all come tumbling down and I have to pick them up and start over again.

This week has been rather stressful. Taxes, mounds of business paperwork and a staggering amount of personal business were the focus as we try to wrap up a very difficult 2009 and move forward.  All on top of what I normally do in a day’s time and the constant drum of, ‘what’s the next meal, what’s the next recipe, what needs to go into the mailer, mama I’m hungry again!’  I’ve been largely homebound for about a month thanks to the weather combined with my workload.  Cabin fever isn’t pretty, but putting it on top of a stress-fest is really a bear.  Earlier this week, hubby told me he wanted to take the kids out today for them to make me a Valentine’s Day gift, as we were not able to do so prior to the holiday thanks to the nasty white mess that keeps falling snow.  I jumped at the chance for a little peace and quiet and gladly shooed helped them out the door at lunch time.

So today I have enjoyed several very quiet hours where I chatted with my mom on the phone without interruption.  I did a little housework.  I took an uninterrupted shower were I was able to shave both legs before either being pulled out of the tub because someone needs me or running out of hot water.  Not once did I hear a little tap on the door with a small voice saying, “I need to go potty!”  Then I sat down and read what I wanted to online to encourage me to be the best wife and mother I can be.  I didn’t read about food, I didn’t think about food, I didn’t eat any food save some chocolate chips. I blissfully ignored the existence of recipes, taxes and paperwork for a whole four hours.  I didn’t work while it was quiet, I plugged in my battery, turned the power button off and recharged myself.

I am very much a person who enjoys solitude and being alone to recenter herself and rub two synapses together and create a complete thought without interruption.  When I’m worn down, just a small amount of quiet can put me in a good mood for the rest of the day.  Now I’m ready to happily greet two smiling, paint-covered children when they walk back in that door to tell me all about how much fun they’ve had with Daddy and show me their creations.  And I can do it with a smile because I took some time to do absolutely nothing but remove all the hats.

What is your favorite way to rest, recharge and remove your hats?