Prepared?

With the news from Belgium on in the background this week, I'm reminded of a question I've considered and dismissed several times over the past few years:

Is my daughter, at any given time, prepared to 'shelter in place,' or to be displaced?

In this increasingly dangerous world where bombings, mass shootings, terror threats and other such events are becoming commonplace, it's question worth considering.

In her school classrooms, she has a meter and its assorted equipment, one juice box and a roll of glucose tabs.  She carries these items with her throughout the day. Would that be enough for a six hour lockdown?

When we travel to the city for the day to see a show or visit a museum, we have double those supplies and usually a small snack.  What if we were told to shelter in place due to an event near our location?

When we go away for a weekend, we take twice the number of supplies we think will need for the days we're away, and a vial of lantus and a pack of 10 syringes in case the pump fails.  What if something happened which stranded us from home for much longer than expected?

Then there are the days when we run to Staples and forget to bring even the meter kit.  Or go for a half mile round-trip walk to the library with only a tiny box of nerds stashed in a pocket, just in case.  What if we were unexpectedly detained?

I don't like to consider these questions.  Dwelling on the scariness of the world in which my child is growing up isn't on my to-do list.  Carrying a bigger bag of stuff in case of an event I desperately hope will never happen seems like a burden which might outweigh the risk.

But maybe there should be extra snacks and spare test strips in her pencil case.  And maybe we should have spare insulin and a few granola bars with us when we're away from home for the day.   And maybe we should always have at least the meter with us even when we're walking a neighbor home who lives only a block away.  And maybe every road trip should involve a really big box of supplies.

But maybe I don't want to think about it.