In case of emergency (or if you need tea), call Mom

Karina Bland is away. This column first ran July 19, 2018:

It was easy when I was a kid, signing up for Brownies or swim class, and whoever was in charge asked whom to call in case of an emergency. My mom.

She’s from New Zealand and responds to most emergencies efficiently and with a good cup of tea.

Then I was a mom, filling out hundreds of these forms as I dropped my son at school and sent him on field trips and to camp.

So I was stumped when I signed up for a new tap class for eight weeks this summer at Breakaway Pointe in Mesa.

We had to fill out the usual paperwork. My pen hung over the blank for “Emergency Contact.”

I am the emergency contact. Not only for my kid but for my friend’s kids when they need to list more than one. I’m good in a crisis.

I glanced at my friend Laura next to me at the counter. She stared at the blank space, too. Neither of us have spouses.

If you’re dating someone, emergency-contact status is one step before engagement.

With friends, it means you’re the responsible one.

My son Sawyer is a grown man and an engineering student at ASU.

But he called me from summer school for a ride home, forgetting that he had driven to campus that morning. He might not be the best person to call if my life is in jeopardy.

Laura and I looked at each other.

Whom should we put?

We’re grown women, usually in charge when something goes wrong. Neither of us likes to ask for help. If anything happened to us here, we’d take care of each other.

Laura scribbled in the blank, “9-1-1.” I jotted down a name and number. My mom.

She’s easy to get hold of — if her TracFone is turned on. She drives only the speed limit, so it would take her an hour to arrive from Peoria.

But she makes a great cup of tea.