My biggest concern was drinking water. I had a drinking straw that filtered the water, but I knew it had a limited filter. It would last me a while, though, and this would give me time to figure out how to manage this need. I could see home when I finally had to stop and put a Band-Aid on my right heel. I should have tended to it earlier but I didn’t want to take the time. I guess I arrived home at about three in the afternoon but I didn’t have a watch to tell me. The first task was to pee. I just couldn’t “go” out in the open and there were no significant trees or cover where I needed to walk. After that, I grabbed two 5-gallon buckets and headed for the stream to collect water. I kept my conceal carry bag around my waist and I locked the door. My shoulders hurt so much that I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to carry the heavy buckets back. I would have to come up with a different solution. Stopping to rest was necessary but I finally made it home, flushed the toilet, filled the tank and bowl, and hoped that this would work for a while. It seemed to work, much to my relief. I added a splash of bleach to the water and used the brush. Tomorrow, I would set the brush in the sun to disinfect it.
My next task was to manage everything, all at once. Okay, I had to slow down and do one thing at a time. I made a list, as follows:
- Plan the fridge contents to avoid spoilage.
- Close the blinds to keep the cold out.
- Gather more water for toilets and bathing and drinking.
- Take inventory of supplies and food and plan for the long haul.
- Check in with the neighbors.
- Check the fuel for the grill.
- Check the motor home for fuel and possibly use of the fridge.
- Check the laundry, so that the clothes in the washer didn’t mold.
- Hang up wet laundry to dry.
- Set up a bug-out bag.
- Set up the wagon and get it ready to include for a bug out.
- Clean my gun.
- Deal with the trash in the garage.
- Take inventory of water bottles.
- Open the safe and take inventory of weapons and ammo for protection.
- Check for any monetary supplies, coins and bills, in case they actually were worth anything.
- Make a list of things to trade for supplies.
- Inventory foodstuffs that I could give to the neighbors who had children to feed.
- Check batteries.
- Check my solar lights and get them ready to charge in the sun the next day.
For now, that was more than enough. I wasn’t sure if I could sleep, but I checked Molly and the ammo I had readily available and set up for sleep. I checked all the doors and windows to be sure they were locked and closed the blinds in the whole house. I was so tired… Nevertheless, sleep was fitful and I ended up sleeping late the next morning. The light streamed around the edges of the blinds when something woke me.