The wind has picked up and is blowing through the trees that skirt around my house. It’s still light, not much faster or more fierce than a regular afternoon thunderstorm. You know the ones you could set your clocks by on a July afternoon in Tallahassee? And the rain we’ve had today has been light and easy.

It feels like we’ve been waiting for this storm for a month. It’s really only been six or seven days.

Now it feels like the night before Christmas. There’s nothing left to secure and put away, no more food to prepare or containers to fill with water. We are prepared, safe, and if we lose power or water, we have what we need to survive. Not as much fun as wrapping gifts…perhaps I’m even more prepared than I am at Christmas!

So now, we wait.

And it’s time for my secondary preparations.

As a writer I keep a lot of paper. My most precious personal possessions, aside from my wedding ring, are my journals and my hard drives.

As Irma approaches, I’ve made sure my journals are in a safe place just in case of flood or damage to the roof. They are protected in a tote and stored in the safest spot in the house I can find for them.

My hard drive is all backed up. Brian backs up our back ups, and he did that earlier today. My laptop bag is ready for a quick getaway should we decide to hit the road. Everything will be with me or will be accessible in the cloud.

Safety of my current work – check.

Now, for the hours that we’re confined to the house, I’ve got supplies ready too.

My current journal is all set with one of my favorite purple pens.

I’ve got my voice recorder all set to go to capture any storm inspired thoughts.

Notes for my fun fiction writing project.

My books all about teaching writing that I’m currently studying, which I’m finding useful as I work with kids to create and publish their original stories.

And last but not least, plenty of activities for my sweet kiddos. They went to the golf course with daddy today, but tomorrow I think we’ll be inside for a good long time.

Writing and reading. Reading and writing. All this anticipation will be over soon – Irma is coming to town!

I’d love to hear what you’re doing to pass the time – leave a comment here or online and we’ll keep each other company.

Sara Marchessault is a writer, publisher, teacher, and mom who is on a mission to increase joy on the planet. Through the practice of self-reflection, we become aware of what brings us joy and what does not, and we make choices to move forward or stand still. Journal writing is a powerful reflection tool that can help any of us move forward, even in the darkest of times. For ideas on how you can get the benefits of journal writing without always keeping a traditional journal, check out Sara’s book, Beyond Pen & Paper: 33 Experiments in Journaling.