I was so very happy to hear that the ILA union & USMX were able to come to enough of an agreement that they can suspend the strike until January 15th. I didn’t think the strike would go on long enough to actually seriously impact supply chains, but certainly more than just 3 days, but hey, I’ll take it.

Can’t help but think Biden saying he wasn’t going to intervene on behalf of USMX and saying he deosn’t believe in Taft-Hartley didn’t hurt. USMX had to be really damn disappointed in that, and I’m hoping that the head of the ILA, who is reportedly kinda of a MAGA dick, understands that Trump would have busted that union so fast it would make his head spin.

I am very pro-union and think strikes sometimes have to happen, and I will also admit I was cringing hard at the timing. Elections in weeks, Christmas just around the corner, photos of the IL A boss with Trump, etc, etc – it could have been a whole ass mess.

And then there was the panic buying. In this house, usually paper towels and toilet paper run out at the same time. (Weird, I know, it just works out that way.) But last week, we needed paper towels, but not toilet paper just yet, which was great, cause I get the big packages and they’re unwieldly as fuck. I was not thinking about the looming strike and Wednesday night as I added toilet paper to the grocery list, I just realized, “Fuuuuuuuuck, is there gonna be any on the shelves?”

The shelves had definitely taken a hit. But there was enough left I could sit and stare and try and figure out toilet paper math, aka how does 15 rolls equal 72 rolls, but 12 equals 80, and I so wanted to scream, “Not panic buying, it’s just time to buy toilet paper this week!”

I’ve joked about the panic buying, but if you did – it’s OK. Toilet paper won’t go bad, and you don’t have to buy it again for a while and if it made you feel a little more secure, it’s OK.

I don’t think you’re stupid, or silly, or uninformed. When you hear “supply chain disruptions” is your first thought really, “So, where does what I need come from and would it be coming through these east coast ports?” I think it’s far more likely it is, “Fucking hell, not again.”

When I saw pics & videos from places like Costco with the toilet paper and whatnot sold out, what I saw was an absolute fuckton of unprocessed trauma from 2020. I know as I stood there in the paper aisle with some unsettling empty spaces, I felt that ick in the pit of my stomach – same ick I felt in March of 2020 when I walked into the market and it was like locusts had come through.

So, if you were feeling like “Fuck, I let my guard down and here we fucking are again, I am not gonna get caught short again” – seems pretty normal to me. I know between watching the aftermath of hurricane Helene, and this strike, I’ve had some “damn, do I need to become a prepper?” thoughts floating through my head.

For now, take a deep breath. Maybe several. If you still feel like you need to stock up, take a slow, deliberate, and non-panicky look at your household supplies and pantry, and figure out what you might want to have some extras of that will make you feel a little more secure, and get them gradually. You don’t have to go drop a grand at the grocery store tomorrow. A couple extra cans of beans this week. An extra box of pasta next week. Another bottle of cleaning spray week after next.

If you need a few extras of some things to feel a little more secure, that’s OK. Just do your best to be calm about it. The supply chain disruptions of 2020 did a fair amount of mental damage to all of us, and I don’t think we realized those wounds weren’t really healed until we were looking at it happening again.

Be kind to yourself.