For the first time, I was prepared when it snowed. No, seriously.

To be honest, it was as much an accident as a plan. It probably had more to do with having a wife who, unlike me, doesn’t think essential supplies for a storm begin and end with beer and toilet paper. They’re still on the list, but my wife has started adding some other things.

We stopped at a supermarket and picked up all the things we needed anyway: coffee, cookies, lunch meat, breakfast foods … more beer.

Fortunately, this storm wasn’t nearly what it could have been. Since it was mostly snow and little ice, all the difficulties that storms can bring (that would be mostly down trees and power outages they cause as they fall and the roads they block) really didn’t come about.

Instead, it was mostly just a matter of staying inside as much as possible and digging when necessary.

And I do mean digging. Much of the region received around 10 inches of snow. I dug Friday only to watch my path disappear under more snow. You couldn’t even tell I had dug.

I’ve been in journalism long enough that I know that the word “snow” makes people lose their mind.  I’ve learned that what storms bring out in people is the need to buy milk and bread in bulk.

I don’t want to know why. But, honestly, I’ve only seen a handful of storms that amounted to more than a couple of days at home.

Don’t get me wrong, though. Better safe than sorry. Better too much that too little when it counts. I’m just glad that this wasn’t one of those storms that justify the rush.

Actually, I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been. We have no batteries, and it didn’t occur to me they might be needed until I heard sleet pinging off of the windows Saturday night. It wasn’t long after that I thought that some kerosene for the kerosene heater would have been good to get, too.

Come to think of it, maybe I should actually make a list instead of just thinking about stuff?

Hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day. That observation might not really be pertinent, but it sounds like something a man might say when he realizes that he was more lucky than good.

Jamie Ruff is a staff reporter for The Kenbridge-Victoria Dispatch. His email is jamie.ruff@kvd.com.