Helping The Kids Prepare

 

No matter how much stuff you stash yourself, you probably can't warehouse enough for all the young people in your life.  We literally do not have that much space here. So, I have been talking to the kids and grandkids about a sensible amount of prepping.  I try to be sensitive, to not scare them, but to advise them seriously.

This brings up the interesting subject of what to stash in case of need.  I have been trying to get them just thinking about what they would run out of if they could not drop into the supermarket one day.  They don't seem to be thinking of hygiene stuff much at all.  Pet supplies?  Meds?  Are their shoes in good shape?  Do they have clothing for seriously weird/bad weather?  Have they stashed some cash?  Have they considered living without power and internet?  What if their phone quits working? If they need some dental work done, maybe do it now?  Do they have some little stove thing? How about checking on friends and family members, just to keep up to date with each other.  I hope the phones keep working or buses or something!

The niece who visited today said she had some of those dried camping meals.  She works at Cabela's, so that figures. I talked with her about shelf stable things like the usual, but also some canned stuff that you could eat cold as is, out of the can, if there was no power.  God forbid!  She said she had coffee and some small bags of rice in the freezer of her apt.  I told her to think about two months.  That opened her eyes up!  It was a concept that she had never considered. 

Many years ago I read The Good Earth, by Pearl Buck.  I remember a scene when during a famine, a husband brought the mother of his children some uncooked beans to eat, and she slowly crunched them up and ate them.  God forbid, that we should eat dried stores like that.  So you should get a little camping stove, already!

We all know that too long of a disruption would be very hard to prepare for, but we have to try.  Also, maybe we should buy everything before they truck it into some cave in MS.

I am open to additional ideas.  Please help me help them if you can.  If we can encourage each other we will do a better job of being ready, just in case.

And with tongue firmly in cheek I offer: