Emergency Prep - Don't Just Survive, Thrive!!!

Since last September's hurricane roared through the Ohio Valley, Emergency Prep has been at the forefront of my thoughts. Never again will I be caught so off-guard. The real shame is that in many ways we weren't unequipped, but simply unprepared. It took a solid 2 days for me to wrap my mind around the fact that the electric wouldn't be coming back on in a matter of minutes. It was hard to conceive of the idea that there was no drinking water, no way to cook. Thankfully, we had plenty of good home-canned food to eat and the weather was temperate so heating wasn't an issue.

When you think of all the craziness going on in the world right now, it's hard to believe we've been as fortunate as we have up to this point. Americans are so entirely reliant on big box stores to feed us, electric companies to light our way, fuel companies to warm our homes. It would take so little to throw our cozy little country out of kilter. Something simple, like a trucker's strike. Or something more frightening, a nuclear accident. A political coup. One simple interruption to the status quo; gas prices would go up, food prices would skyrocket, grocery store shelves would empty because drivers couldn't deliver the goods. There would be panic, rioting, runs on the bank. And that's assuming there's only a man-made/political disaster. Mother Nature is scarier than anything mankind can come up with.

So call me *crazy*, but that's why I've been prepping for the worst over the past year. I'm determined that if the worst should happen, I'll be both equipped and prepared next time around. Should there be another hurricane/tornado/terrorist attack, I'll have a plan in place to ensure the safety and comfort of my family. My efforts have been to store whatever I can, but also to prepare so that my family can thrive if our lifestyle/economy/culture should change abruptly. I guess I'm trying to prepare for both short-term and long-term problems.

The short-term stuff is easy; extra food, bottled water, lamp oil, Sterno, batteries, candles and matches, etc. The long-term stuff is a little more difficult. How do you begin to prepare for a way of life completely alien to you? A life without running water, electric, adequate food supplies? How would you dress your children, educate them, feed them? Those are the questions that have been running through my head lately. A lot of 'what ifs', but definitely things we should consider as we sit here in our safe little homes watching the American/global landscape collapse around us.

In addition to storing flour, sugar, oil, pasta, water, powdered milk, I've also been trying to learn old skills. Survival skills. Like fishing. Probably a lot of folks wouldn't consider fishing a survival skill, but if you're hungry, I'd bet it's a doggone good thing to know. We're also learning to hatch chicks, courtesy of our 2 (count them, 2) broody butt hens, in order to be less reliant on commercial hatcheries. While these are both small steps, they're steps that lead us to greater self-reliance and bolster our self-confidence at the same time. How different would our world be if everyone knew how to feed themselves with food they raised or caught? Dress themselves in clothes they made with their own 2 hands; rely on themselves, not only to survive, but to thrive as well!