31 Days of Halloween - Day 29 and 30 Cancelled Due to Hurricane Sandy

For the second year in a row (how can that be?!) my kids are off from school on Halloween, and trick-or-treating has been cancelled.

Now don't get me wrong, I live in New Jersey and there are too many people who have been devestated by this storm to even think a few kids missing Halloween is anything. But of course, as we were not personally devestated by the storm, I feel for those kids. They are, afterall, only kids.

The hurricane has left me wondering how all the people affected will re-build, when we'll have power back ourselves, when my kids will go back to school, and of course when my mom will be able to return to her home in Lower Manhattan.

But it hasn't left me wondering what to write about Halloween.

Photo from Hurricane Irene. I wasn't up to taking photos of the destruction in my town again just a year later.

Thinking of all in Hurricane Sandy's path, to quote Governor Christie: The clouds haven't parted yet to see the sun.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 28 - Interrupted by Hurricane Sandy

Today I have no choice but to take a break from my Halloween-ing, and to focus on the Frankenstorm - Hurricane Sandy instead.

Because if you live in New Jersey as I do, Hurricane Sandy is all you're thinking about. I have done what I can today -gas in the car, clothes washed and dried, devices charged, food and water stockpiled. I even found our flashlights and battery reserves. And I have worried, I have worried enough for all of us.

And, I was very happy to remember that over the summer the good folks at the New York Office of Emergency Management (NYC OEM) had sent me a Go Bag fully stocked with first aid kit, work gloves and other necessary items. So now I'm totally prepared, even if a lot of that preparedness was done for me by someone else.

In general, every family (and business) should have a hurricane disaster plan in place before a potential storm. To help, the NYC OEM even has a free guide: Ready New York: Hurricanes and New York City with tips on how to prepare for any emergency, instructions on how to develop a hurricane disaster plan and secure your home before a storm, as well as a map with New York City hurricane evacuation zones. A map I'm familiar with as my mom who lives in lower Manhattan just got evacuated for the second time - not that she's keeping count. Or complaining.

So yes, all of this is last minute for the Frankenstorm that is Hurricane Sandy, but at least it's an important reminder that these things do happen - even in New York City - and that we all need to be prepared.

If you're in New York City, you can find your zone and the location of your nearest evacuation center/shelter here.

And no matter where you live, the NYC OEM has a helpful list of Hurricane Safety Tips. And if you do live in NYC, follow the NYC OEM on Twitter @NotifyNYC for the latest storm updates and coverage.

Now if I can just find where I stashed the hidden candy.

Be safe, all.