prepping for sandy (m)

I'm not going to lie.  I was fine with the call to action by meteorologists warning us to prepare for the storm.  It is the only way to get my spouse mobilized to help me move the porch/patio furniture.

Me: They say it's going to be a huge storm and we should batten down the hatches.
T: They always say that.  It's just hype.
Me: No, no.  They are using words like "unprecedented" and "historic".
T: Please.
Me: Look, let's just play it safe and take care of the patio furniture and move some stuff in, okay.
T: If I have time.

Apparently,my husband finds some.  He begins by mowing the lawn.  This does not need to be done but it is his favorite thing to do.  By the way, he only does what he likes.  For example, he will take dinner plates out of the dishwasher but he will not put cutlery away because, as he says, "I don't like that."  Presumably, I do.

We spend five hours cleaning the patio, putting umbrellas in the shed. Moving heavy pots of flowers/plants, taking cushions in, rolling up rugs, securing the cover of the hot tub.

T moves the heat lamps to a little nook between two trees and lays them down, putting the propane tanks on the porch.  I blow the leaves off the patio with the industrial-strength leaf blower.

When we finish, we look around and decide the space looks clean and beautiful.    We go to dinner in Cambridge and come back and light a fire in the fireplace.

Sitting on the Adirondack chairs in front of crackling fire and a bubbling water fountain, I understand what they mean by the calm before the storm.