experience has taught me

In my last post maybe I came across as a naysayer and sounded a little hard. My concerns for tomorrow exist because I relish life and have a "we can do it, we'll get through it" attitude in general. I have concerns about people, especially those very near and dear to me, so of course I hope they will think ahead enough to prepare for their own well being. Often I seem to be one of those people others look to for guidance, advice and support. Because I am preparing for the possibility of hard times, I want them to be better prepared as well. I hope my concerns about the near future don't materialize. I have some serious concerns prompting me to take what measures I can, but just so you know, I don't necessarily live every day as if the end is near.

We are in many ways defined by our experiences through life. Which explains my mind set when it comes to "survival". I am a survivalist, but not in the sense that I'm a overzealous gun toting redneck, huh uh. I am none of those. I'm a survivalist from having lived through some pretty skimpy times.

I grew up poor, although that reality didn't set in for many years, until I was practically grown up. Early in my marriage times were pretty rough for a variety of reasons. At one point in the early 80's my husband was laid off from work and we were existing on $40 a week. Our circumstances didn't allow me to be prepared, plus being younger and whole lot more naive didn't help either. It was winter and we were feeding our family of four on whatever we could muster up and often on the charity of others. I was washing cotton diapers out by hand in the basement for my infant daughter and my son was wearing a coat with a broken zipper and canvas tennis shoes on his feet while he stood outside in the cold and snow waiting for the school bus. (Even now, the thought of him standing out there like that makes me want to cry.) I'll never forget the first time I was finally forced to go to a charitable organization and ask for food. The lady there asked if we would accept dry beans. I must have looked at her in a peculiar way because she added, "Some people won't eat that type of thing." I was dumbfounded and reassured her that I would take anything they were willing to give me; food was food and we had none. It was during this same period of time that we were driving down the road when my husband suddenly swerved the car to the side of the road and then pulled over. I had no immediate idea of why he did either. He got out of the car, threw the dead rabbit he had deliberately hit onto the hood and we drove home. That evening he skinned it and I cooked a pot of rabbit stew.

This is just an example of how life experience helps to define our tendencies. As I said, I relish life and the art of being present in the moment, but I have learned that doing what is within my power to prepare for tomorrow is vital to our well being. My message is simply to alert people to the possibility of hard times and to exercise some common sense, that is all. The economy itself doesn't need to collapse for us to find ourselves facing tough times. 'Nuff said.

What experiences have lead you towards the path of preparedness?