Here Comes the Rain!

It seems late to me, the very end of November, to be seeing the first rains of the season. It has been a beautiful summer, and a summer-like fall, but now the forecast calls for a change in weather
conditions and rain is on the horizon. Here in the mountains close to California's Central Coast, where beautiful weather is the norm, we prepare for a real storm with rain coming to wash away the grime of a year, and nurture the beauty we so adore.

Our house sits in the forest, and the change in weather means preparations need to occur. The summer umbrella needs to be folded and brought in, and the chairs we enjoyed the sunshine in need to be covered. My eldest is on vacation, so we have raked leaves and cleared the way for the rain to wash through the yard together with almost a festive sense of anticipation, enjoying that universal childhood experience of jumping and diving in the pile we created. Most get cleared, but some remain to provide habitat for the creatures in winter.

The trees mean not just leaves in the yard, however, but also leaves on the roof and in gutters. Downspouts need to be cleared and our drainage system needs to be inspected. I'm not the type who waits around for someone else to handle the chores that need doing, so I bring out the ladder and climb up to clear the leaves and detritus of a year from the gutters. Cleaning gutters can be tedious, and my mind turns to how many people get hurt doing simple home maintenance tasks such as this. Instead of moving the ladder, you climb one rung too high and lose your balance. Instead of climbing down and then up again, you reach and stretch to just finish the job, pushing the ladder out from under yourself. You step off one step too soon and fall backwards. Though the six foot ladder might not look so tall, the drop can cause more harm than you realize.

It seems silly that such a yearly chore can make you realize that you need to have your legal documents in place. And again we feel like those accidents are something that "won't happen to me". The reality is though, that it is not unheard of for people to fall from ladders at home, requiring medical treatment, trips to the emergency rooms, and even sometimes worse.

It's never a bad time, and never a better time than now, to make sure you have papers in place to protect yourself and your loved ones. If you get hurt cleaning your gutters who will be able to take care of your responsibilities? If you get hurt and are hospitalized, who will make your medical decisions for you? Making sure that you have all of your appropriate powers of attorney in place and current can save you and the ones you loved from unnecessary headache and heartache.

Now that the gutters are cleaned, and the holiday season is upon us, it is time for the decorating, with all of its associated potential hazards, to truly begin! Reach out and give me a call so I can help ensure that you are prepared for the unanticipated accidents of the season.