safe travels

I've never done a good job at preparing for the worst. Since M came along I've gotten better, we now have water and some food stored in the garage in case of an earthquake. We baby proofed the house. But I've never taken measures to ensure safety while on the road aside from the car seat. We don't keep extra food or water or blankets in our car. And shame on us.

Sequoia Survival helped me change that recently by allowing me to review their travel kit through Parentbloggers. The kit is small, so compact it will barely be noticeable in the trunk. But the point is, it's in there.

The kit is packed with all sorts of important items. ready to eat meals for two for an entire day, water, a decent first aid kit, rope, gloves, matches, paper, a mini-blade, emergency blankets, lightsticks, a hand crank cell phone charger and even a deck of cards. It's got what you need to spend the night, maybe two nights stranded in your car.

I will never forget the Kim family's struggle last winter. I will never forget their agonizing story of survival, a wrong turn on a day trip turned into tragedy. We've gone off the beaten path ourselves and never were we adequately prepared for the what ifs.

Nothing can truly keep us safe and that is probably one of the most important realizations we'll ever have as human beings. But we can do our part to be smart about it, to be prepared in the case of emergency, so that our mistakes can be minimized as much as possible.

I feel better knowing it's in my trunk. I'll feel better knowing I have this one small measure for M and for my family. I won't allow myself to live in fear, but I will continue to be smarter about the choices I make and calculate the risks. The Sequoia Survival Kit is one of the measures we'll include from now on in our travels, that little red safety pack nestled in my trunk.

I hope I never need to use it, but I am happy knowing it's there.