Sunday, January 9, 2011

Emergency Rations

My husband and I are very different in how we deal with uncertainty and concerns for our welfare in the future.

I assume: we're both resourceful and resilient; whatever happens, we'll figure out what to do; we have what we need. To me it makes little sense to prepare for unknown and unlikely misfortune.

My husband assumes: we need to be super-prepared for calamity no matter how unlikely (and probably it's more likely than we think).

Based on his thinking, we have: a boss-new, super-quiet, super-efficient generator; a stock-pile of basic foods (12 + large boxes full) and a list of more to be purchased soon; a 20-day supply of military field-rations (MREs); an assortment of fuels; a few guns; and more that I won't mention here. All that is in addition to regular "back-up" stuff.

Based on my thinking, we would have enough food on hand to get us through a bad snow storm and a lantern for when the power goes out.

Our water needs are met because we collect rain water (4 large cisterns full of it, thousands of gallons), our only water source. Our heat needs are met because when trees/branches fall, we chop them up for fire wood, currently with more than a 3-year supply ready to use.

Why am I writing this? I don't know... just thinking out loud about our differences, trying to accept both ways of thinking as valid, part of me being grateful to him for providing this level of security, part of me feeling a bit guilty for not getting more involved with his emergency preparedness efforts.

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Gratitude for the day: time to talk on the phone with my long-time bestest friend, popcorn and a good movie with my husband and our cat, fabric

6 comments:

  1. Don't feel guilty about not being involved in his "be prepared" project. Sounds like he has it under control and then some.

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  2. to each his own I say. One of the blogs I like for a variety reasons , the blogger is very in to dire warnings and emergency preparedness. That kind of talk gets me panicked. I do like having at least another weeks worth of pet foods and plenty of toilet paper and coffee on hand..But it really is only a source of stress for me. feel better that he's got it covered.

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  3. My husband and I are different in how we approach many things. And it can be a sore spot for me, at least. Often frustrating me and making me feel like there is some competition. I need to work on accepting his way as valid - love how you worded that. But he sure can drive me crazy sometimes!

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  4. The Military teaches us to be prepared...
    And really it can't hurt....
    unless it takes away
    from current resources...
    I think it's great to gather the fallen limbs
    and branches for wood.
    I would do well to save up as much money in rent!
    But the MRE's??
    Well now, that's another story!

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  5. I like it, too, that you look at each way as a valid approach. There is a... gentleness... in your approach.

    I also saw that in your comment to me about back pain... about it being perhaps (at least partly) more age related than weight related. And you said "that's the way it is".

    And it helped me see I was fighting with it, trying to "fix" it, and all hung up on it. And I wondered if I had more acceptance, like you, that at least for now, "that's the way it is"... that more gentler attitude, that maybe it wouldn't be such a negative source of stress??

    Sure, it would still hurt physically... but maybe that wouldn't bleed over into my psyche.

    Thanks for helping to open up my thinking to other ways of looking at it. :-)

    Loretta
    =^..^=

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  6. Understanding the differences is the only way to ever reach compromise. :)

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