Prepper Pantry

I have a more serious pantry, but this is not it!

Like the prairie pioneers who filled their pantries to get through a long winter, modern day "doomsday preppers" are more extremely stockpiling for the end of our days as we know them.

So much speculation takes place about this "end." Alot of it is based on biblical interpretations; much of it is analyzed from occurring world events without connection to religiosity. When people have only themselves to believe in, the measures taken to survive have nothing to do with a reliance on God.

How does anyone really prepare for any tumultuous "end" without hope given to us by a Higher Source of power than what we can muster for ourselves? If our whole world becomes riddled with the effects of war and disaster, and all of surviving mankind proceeds in dog-eat-dog fashion, what sort of living will that be? And for how long can it be borne?

I'm not a numbers person, but I'm pretty sure if you take the number of people ever in history that have lived and died, that number exceeds the number of people living today. All the former have died; all living today will someday die a physical death. None of us has ever had say about this, or even how we will die and in what state of readiness.

To add to this truth, we will never be handed carte blanche about commandeering every detail within our lifespan that affects personal well-being.  BUT--we have been handed an inherent will to make the most and best of our lives, and come what may, we will try to take charge of the details.

When we have children, it seems our will is then directed largely to making good lives for them and towards securing their futures. This is about protecting the species, and especially our own offspring. Once you are a parent your life is no longer your own. You think your heart pulses in one steady beat, but when your child suffers a life blow or a threat to their being, a section of your heart seizes up. You are not good to go again until all is well. This sensitivity is most usual in the nature of the beast of parenting.

Considering this, "doomsday preppers" are only (in extreme measure) doing what they are hard-wired to do.
They are stockpiling for a "long winter," but if this "long winter" occurs it will involve much more than isolation brought on by cold temperatures and impassable snowdrifts.

"Preppers" are arming themselves for warfare WITH warfare. They are securing fortresses with surveillance capabilities and building elaborate bunkers with tunnelways. They are establishing ultra-expensive systems to generate energy for powering modern conveniences our pioneer ancestors lived without. So too are huge arsenals a part of these scenarios; weapons to protect and defend and if necessary, destroy.

Destroy who for what? I don't say this in mockery, but I am afraid it is their fellow man, and over a box of Cheerios. In the sphere of taking care of your family, you're going to want food for your family first. Have you seen the tremendous amounts of food inventories amassed by preppers? The thinking is to carry loved ones through as long a time as possible, presumably to better times. Not knowing how long this might take,   every box of Cheerios is going to matter. If one is spared for one neighbor, where might that lead?

The amounts of money we invest in watching out for our families is really always huge, be it in preparation for college or doomsday. But "doomsday loans" are not available the way college loans are. It is hard enough for some people to stock the cupboards for a coming week of groceries, so it is not like the industrious ant versus the slacker grasshopper. We do what we can according to our means, and most of us regardless of the times strive to have moderately extra in our pantries.

Money though, isn't the real or only issue when some people dare to not over-ready themselves for this "long winter." Some people actually rely on something called "FAITH," and I don't mean faith in the power of one's self.

It may be that the biggest "preppers" out there are those who go door-to-door speaking in their faith about "the end times."  They are not laying up their treasures (survival items) here on earth; their treasures are revealed in sentiments of belief.

Sentiments of belief are available to anyone. You don't have to belong to a church to have them, but it seems to me that they need to involve a larger force than our small selves, or even a community of small selves.

The hard-wiring within ourselves tells us always to "line our ducks in a row" in preparation for what is to come. How many people do you know readied extensively for retirement, paid off the mortgage and booked that European trip or found just the right motorhome, only to learn they had cancer, or were affected with some other daunting, life-altering circumstance?

It happens all the time that we find we weren't in charge of anything. We ready for one thought-obsessed part of our life, and then get run over trying to cross the street. Sometimes we get run over trying to help our child get to the other side safely.

If a doomsday prepper speaks of faith, is the quality of that faith diminished by his/her big-time prepping? I'm not the one to say or know. We all do what we are hard-wired to do. We love our families and we want to secure their futures. We want to "be ready."

But it seems we need to be ready with more than material items of survival in our possession. We need to have something bigger than ourselves to rely on, and sometimes that means saying this much: "Less (items of physical survival) will be plenty for me."

"Letting The Chips Fall Where They May"

I trust least the marriages wherein couples profess their intentions to frequently renew their vows.

Most do not, but some do this even on an annual basis. What for, I ask. What union needs that pressure?

The idea that peace, harmony AND romance MUST accompany an impending date every twelve months or so seems very problematic to me. Certainly when the early blush of matrimonial bliss is at peak, this all appears very do-able. After all, formal promises in a witnessed ceremony have just taken place. Usually, the whole "to-do" involved great contemplation and anticipation accompanied by passionate hopes for the long-term.

It's a bit like embarking upon weight loss. You have energized yourself with all this positive karma about a change-up in your life; a vision of yourself obtaining longlasting overall well-being. You're pumped up, and you're finally serious with the right mind-set. Once you reach your goal, it will be all about maintenence--the until-death-do-you-part kind.

You know what it feels like to lose enthusiasm over a diet, an out-of-date, broken-down car, a town or a job you've outgrown. Good though each may have been to you, sometimes it's just good to take pause, mull things over and sometimes even move on. Marriage is a little more serious than these things, even in these times. Most people still do not take the commitment lightly and most do not enter it without meaning for it to LAST.
A promise is a promise is a promise. If you believe marriage is a promise and you were one of the two central participants speaking the vows, the deal is sealed. Repeating them every so often doesn't make it a stronger promise; it may even cast doubt on the validity of the original promise.

Can you imagine being several years into a marriage of frequent renewals and finding that the next approaching one seems a bit much to muster enthusiasm over? Any honest marriage worth its salt has times when just getting through dinner and a movie together is a blessed achievement. It may just be a hill or a valley--a time to get through without alot of hoopla. The less fuss the less muss, and the beat can go on.

But to be several years in and one year abandon a renewal in discord--what does that do to the psyche of a union? Wouldn't the absence of what seemed such a vital tradition provoke thoughts as to the soundness of the partnership from then on? Once a renewal doesn't take place, can a couple ever go back? More importantly, can the twosome dial back and count their original, singular anniversary as good enough?

It should never be otherwise. The original date of your promise has always been good enough. Muddying the waters with too much emphasis on regularly getting into a celebratory and reconfirming mode invites a time when it's just not going to happen.

You didn't ask, but I'll say it anyway: If you are an idealistic one who thrives on the romanticism of vow renewals, STOP IT NOW.  If you're not, but your daughter (or sister, or niece) is, STOP THEM NOW.

Conserve your emotional energy. Except for the occasional milestone, go your celebrations alone. Wasn't it supposed to be just the two of you in this marriage anyway?

Not very long ago a good friend spoke daily (to a number of us) about her upcoming renewal of vows. She and her husband had been doing this for years, she said. They invited near to a hundred people, and as planned a fairly good party took place. Friends and family showed up to enjoy cake and celebration, a bonfire and even trail (horseback) rides--the couple's favorite pastime.

Their tenth renewal went off without a hitch. (Except for the horses at the hitching post. Oh, and the fact that they essentially felt "newly hitched" again. Okay, sorry, enough.)

But not for long did they feel newly hitched. A couple of months later, my friend had her childrens' and her own bags packed with a "heads up" to the kids that if she gave the signal, they were to follow her, no questions asked.

Not a funny time at all. It took awhile, but thankfully differences seemed to get ironed out and the family is still together.  But who needs to go through a renewal one month and a near-dissolution the next? Keeping a marriage on the bright side is tough enough without adding pressures that reach a breaking point by self-imposed expectations.

When it comes to the bonds of matrimony, take them seriously. Work at things, and understand that there will be times when "muddling through" is about the best you can do. These are the hills and the valleys. Usually, you'll laugh together again, if not about your hills and valleys, about the grandbabies antics or the way you both still can't sing but like to try.

When it comes to the idealism of vow-renewals, stop romancing that notion now, and let the chips fall where they may.