Articles written as personal memoirs always have a special way of reinforcing why preparedness is so important to me. They inspire me to continue learning, and make me proud to call myself a prepper. Hopefully my story of growing up to live among the modern generation of preppers can do the same for you.
I remember my high school shop teacher, and the day he wheeled a television into our room and turned it on. His face was flushed as he changed the channel to a news station, and we watched as thick smoke rolled out of the World Trade Center. Then, on live television, a second plane hit the towers. Everyone but me was convinced it was a terrorist attack. That’s me…the eternal optimist. I get that from my father, which is probably why I remember the most about that day what he said to me. “Watch. The world will never be the same for you, from here on out.” He is the one who planted the seeds of “prepping” in me and told me to always listen to my inner voice, which has saved my life on more than one occasion and my sanity on many more.
Now I am married to a US Marine and have three small children and struggle to understand the changes I see in the world around me. I also remember the ridicule the Y2K preppers were subject to in the media and not understanding why someone would get ready for such an event. (To be fair, I also struggle to understand individuals or groups who prepare for a single event without accounting for anything else.) Why would people stockpile food, water, ammunition for something that would only impact computers? Needless to say, I understand now, but many people don’t.
Sometimes I wonder if the modern prepping movement is simply our way of seeking a more substantial way of life; sustainable roots in a world where we are busy with unfulfilling jobs and spend free time wasting away in front of television programs. Or on a more personal level, my way of motivating myself out of depression and the redundancies of raising a family, moving, setting down roots and keeping my possessions in manageable order.
I’ve come a long way in a few short years from my road trip to meet my then-fiancé after a deployment with a trunk full of everything I owned, cooking food from a can (more on that later) and living paycheck to paycheck. Now I’m a mother, a wife, a member of whatever community I happen to belong to at the moment and someone who chooses to “prep” with a positive and realistic attitude.
Living in coastal North Carolina, the biggest concern was hurricanes. My husband (eventually we did get married) and I grew up in New England in wood-stove heated homes, so the idea of being fairly self-sufficient wasn’t entirely new to us. But our home wasn’t made for even the smallest hurricane, so I tried my best to do what I could with a limited budget. I had supplies in the house for us and a sort of “bug-out list”, because I simply could not afford a separate cache of supplies I would need in an emergency and ones I used on a daily basis. I still do this today, everything I might need written in a notepad in a special place. I have two “levels” on my list, one for a half hour evacuation and one for a two hour evacuation.
In Okinawa, I began to relax a little bit. Living on an overseas base, you cannot have a firearm. I began to have the attitude that my family and I were at the mercy of our government and enjoy the island. Then, we were hit with a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, and it changed me forever. Nothing broke. No one was injured. We did not even lose power. But there is something about the earth moving in such a momentous way under your feet and your children’s feet that can change you. And I know I was not the only one. So once again, I began preparing.
I made friends and even worked out in town, learned as much of the language and culture as I could, and even brought food to the homeless and learned where they went at night to be “safe”. On such a small and populated island, such information could be priceless. The experience there enriched my life, but I still tried to approach much of what I did in a twofold way. I left friends but also the promise of employment.
My preparations there were not in complete vain. My husband and I decided to renew our vows on one of the many subtropical beaches after life handed us some tough cards, and I went with my children early to get ready for our friends. Suddenly, a man in uniform knocked on my hotel room door and told me I had less than ten minutes to evacuate. A massive earthquake (the massive earthquake) had just struck mainland Japan and we were under a tsunami warning. I had to walk on foot alone to the designated waiting area, and I had my bug out bag and supplies packed in my car. It took me less than ten minutes to get up that hill and my children and I were comfortable during our wait, which lasted over five hours. We were even able to give some things to others to help them. In that time, I realized how different I looked at things than most people. The first thing I thought when we got up the hill was “Hmm, I wonder where all of these people are going to go to the bathroom?” No one else seemed content with anything other than to pace or complain. My kids were happy and protected from bugs, hunger, thirst, etc. For a short time, anyway.
When we were reunited with my husband and our guests (who were forced to wait on low ground immediately outside the base gate during this time-do not trust the military to even take care of their own if TSHTF), we turned on the television and watched the footage of the tsunami effecting the mainland. It has almost been a year, and my experience has cemented in me something I don’t believe will ever leave me. I am a prepper now.
Now, our family lives in the Midwest. I learned about the unique natural disasters our region might face and have reaped one of the benefits of the area- guns again! I am learning how to balance a stockpile of food and healthy eating with the need to move on short notice.
I also learning how to maintain a positive outlook on things even when I wait for my “supplies” for two months in an empty house, and how to teach my children what they need to learn in today’s world and the own unique world they occupy as military children. And, maybe someday, adults in a world even I won’t be able to recognize, one way or another.
I am reading, reading, reading. I read anything and everything I can that seems realistic about prepping. Even when I might feel that the skills I can give my children are scarce, I am reminded through books that we can learn new things together. We are currently awaiting a couple of books about clouds and identifying weather. Fun and practical.
One thing about military wives that is definitely true is our ability to network and get stuff done (GSD). We talk, we do what needs to be done, we support one another, and many times we shake our heads at the complaints of “regular people” together. We can become family when needed, provide support to one another in ways friends generally wouldn’t on short notice, and learn from each other. This can be good or bad. I have a friend who subscribes to the prepper mentality also, for different reasons than me, and who was a “disaster buddy” while we were overseas. (In the event of a natural disaster or military event, we couldn’t count on our husbands to be there). She stockpiled, but was not neat about it. As much as I hate to admit it, I contribute the recent loss of her entire shipment of household goods to not keeping the house clean. Mold. You can bet that I keep my house and possessions clean and in good order.
I see people lose friends, spouses, their pets, their things…have spent over 6 months in hotel rooms with my kids, have lived in airports for days with them in strange places, have traveled the world alone with them in the back of cargo jets, have slept on empty floors in empty houses for more months than I care to remember, have learned very quickly how to set out feelers in a new community and what my resources are, and have learned from the mistakes of those on my path. My kids are being raised to know the world does not revolve around them. And through it all, I am learning that the world really is changing. It really isn’t the same world as it was the day I went to school on September 11. And, on however small a scale, I have been ready for something I never expected to happen that did.
Being a prepper chose me, much like the lifestyle did as soon as I fell in love with a Marine. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
A few special considerations I have dealt with:
-Healthy eating and prepping. I prefer to eat whole, fresh foods and use them for cooking. To me, there doesn’t seem anything wrong with continuing to eat this way, especially because it lends itself to advancing skills in cooking and preparing food anyway. Even if I might not make homemade bread or soup with the same ingredients WTSHTF, after years of cooking you learn that soup is just a bunch of stuff that tastes good together thrown into a pot and bread can be made with all sorts of things. Either way, I like to keep a large stock of some canned items, but like to add diversity in dehydrated and freeze-dried foods. There are usually no preservatives in these items and they can replace something you might have spent unnecessary money for at the grocery store in everyday cooking, like chives or even powdered milk to make bread, on a day to day basis.
-Children are the basis for many survival articles, but besides their material needs, they can actually be assets in a survival situation. I only know this from having survived with them inside empty houses, airports, and hotel rooms. Seriously though, everything you do can serve a dual purpose, and the way you raise and interact with your children is no exception. If your kids cannot go without television or their toys for a day, they will struggle in a survival scenario that much more. Boredom begets creativity. Force yourself to find ways to do everyday things without what you usually have to do them and the ideas will flow. Your kids will also adjust accordingly. Above all else, maintain a positive attitude.
-Go through your calendar at the end of the year and save it. Look at how many times you’ve gone to the doctor and what for, the dentist and what for, how many times you’ve eaten out, etc. If you have been to the dentist for fillings a couple times in a year, chances are an emergency dental kit would be a smart investment. If you are taking your child to the doctor for eczema often, maybe you need to stock up more on his or her supplies and anything else you’d need to deal with that in an unexpected environment, like clothes that can cover their skin or hold in moisture. Sometimes we can’t see what is right in front of us, but if you are like me and write down everything on your calendar, it can be right in front of you.
-Don’t burn bridges. There really is nothing wrong with acquaintances. You don’t have to be best friends with everyone, but if there is one thing being a military wife has taught me, its that it doesn’t always matter. Sometimes you will need someone, and they will need you, and you have to be willing to get over the petty things and work together. In Okinawa, I was stuck on the hill during the tsunami warning with my next door neighbors. They were the worst neighbors we’ve ever had and we’ve had some bad ones, and that includes roommates. You never know who fate might stick you with…it can be a small world (or in my case, a small island).
-If you can diversify nothing else, diversify your learning. I love reading. Luckily for me, my kids like listening to me and learning about pretty much anything. It might be too expensive for most people to become hardcore preppers, but buying or lending a book about tying knots and using your shoelaces to practice can be free. The more you learn, the more creative you get, and the more you realize how important your mind is. Don’t neglect it- it might be all you have someday.