Email answer to prayer?

[Rundgrenfan]

I’m really happy to still be on this mailing list and to have received today’s email message. 
Last week I met with friends. We used to get together weekly but since covid we are just working our way up to monthly. I made a few comments that raised eyebrows but the most pushback I got was when I said that I hoped everyone was stocking up their pantry, like seriously! One said her pantry is always full and she’s not changing a thing. Another said I need to get my news from somewhere else and chill out. 
It wasn’t unfriendly, and we all laughed off the comments. But I did feel sad that I really have nobody to talk to about this kind of stuff. 
And then a week later I got the email, reminding me that there is such a place. Thank you!

-jenn 

[Dee]

Welcome back Rundgrefan!  I know the feeling of people not understanding the need to prep.  I even had one cousin make so much fun of me I made up a different name and told I'd quit coming here.  Sad to feel like one needs to do it but better than leaving.

[Mother]

Welcome back, Rundgrenfan.  We all need each other in this day when Covid and war in Ukraine doesn’t seem to tell  people they need  to be better prepared.  We will do all we can to be your support.  

[Rundgrenfan]

Thank you! I started getting serious in 2020 when I finally had time to organize my basement and create food storage down there. This year I have (probably overly) ambitious garden plans! 

[Jeepers]

Rundgrenfan, Looks like you have landed in the right place. We are sure glad you are here. I think we have all tried to guide people in the right (in our opinion) direction only to have it fallen on deaf ears. I know I have too. We love to talking about preparedness here. 

 

Plant that garden girl. What you don't eat you can freeze, can, dehydrate or donate. Or at the very least save the seeds. 

 

WELCOME BACK!

[Littlesister]

Welcome back Rundgrenfan.  We all need guidance on how to prepare for things. Inflation is only one part of it. 

Glad to see so many coming back. Having new incite will help us all on which way to go next in our preps. 

[dogmom4]

Welcome back Rundgrenfan! I understand how you feel... I’ve gotten a lot of pushback whenever I’ve tried to talk about preparedness over the years. So I really appreciate Mrs. Survival.

[ANewMe]

 Nice to meet you!

[Littlesister]

Sometimes talking with family members about preparing is the hardest. I have a GD and a step GD that are preparing. My daughter still has her head in the sand. She isn't doing anything and lives 2 and 1/2 miles from me. I may or may not be able to help her and her DH depending on what happens. But I have enough for them just in case. DD just doesn't want to watch the news nor hear anything about what is going on in this world.

[snapshotmiki]

On 3/16/2022 at 4:45 PM, Rundgrenfan said:

This year I have (probably overly) ambitious garden plans! 

Me too!  Going to do it anyway!

[Dee]

Quote

This year I have (probably overly) ambitious garden plans! 

Quote

Me too!  Going to do it anyway!

 

 

I always have over ambitious garden plans.  It's so nice gardening in the winter sitting in a warm house in my recliner.  Hot summer days and weeds don't seem quite the same. 

[Littlesister]

Last year I only did a small garden. And very little canning. This year I am putting up raised beds and doing a large garden. I want to start doing a winter garden since the rabbits won't be able to get into the raised beds. Now that might be getting too ambitious. My body hates the cold weather and lets me know it.

[Rundgrenfan]

Last year I couldn’t plant anything because we had our deck replaced with a stone patio edged in planting beds. The yard was torn up all summer and fall (it took several extra months due to labor and material shortages). So I’m extra excited to garden this year! I have peas, onions, and greens in so far, and put in garlic last fall. 

[themartianchick]

I have done no gardening in recent years, due to caring for my mom. We still have some permaculture and a perpetual potato patch in my front flowerbed (which has been there for years). I'd like to get back to it but it is difficult because I spend very little time in my own home.

[Rundgrenfan]

Martianchick, I understand some of the stress you are under. My in laws moved in with us when my kids were 4 and 6. They were already quite old (she was 81, he was 87). She died within six months and then we realized she had been covering for my FIL mentally, and his dementia advanced. We were able to keep him at home for five years but it basically consumed our lives. We’re just now doing some home repairs and projects we should have done a decade ago. 

[dogmom4]

Hugs to you martianchick. My mom stayed in a facility near my home for the past six years until she passed away last October. She got wonderful care of her but I still was the one who was taking her to appointments or visiting daily as Her dementia progressed. It does take so much out of you physically and mentally. We also had my husband’s father stay with us for four months until he passed away. One thing I do know is that staying out in my garden was some thing that helped keep me mentally balanced…

[Jeepers]

So many children trying to take care of their elderly parents with dementia. That must be so difficult.

But God bless each one of you!   

[themartianchick]

2 hours ago, Jeepers said:

So many children trying to take care of their elderly parents with dementia. That must be so difficult.

But God bless each one of you!   

 

Thank you, Jeepers! Dementia can be so difficult to manage. My mom has Parkinson's Disease and (so far), she doesn't seem to have the dementia that sometimes accompanies it. (It does give her some incredibly vivid dreams!) It is awfully hard to see someone who was always so strong, suddenly have no strength or coordination to do the most basic of daily activities. For me, it really was the only option. Mom really didn't want to live in a nursing home and she was in danger while living in the family home. She was an excellent retirement planner, when it came to most financial situations, but she never imagined that she would become incapacitated to this extent. Retirement and long term care planning are other topics that I have been forced to learn. I am determined to (hopefully) make things easier for my children.

[themartianchick]

2 hours ago, dogmom4 said:

Hugs to you martianchick. My mom stayed in a facility near my home for the past six years until she passed away last October. She got wonderful care of her but I still was the one who was taking her to appointments or visiting daily as Her dementia progressed. It does take so much out of you physically and mentally. We also had my husband’s father stay with us for four months until he passed away. One thing I do know is that staying out in my garden was some thing that helped keep me mentally balanced…

Thank you, Dogmom! People who have been through it truly understand how difficult it can be. That is one of the reasons that I felt the need to come back to Mrs. S. The role of a caregiver can be isolating. Between work and taking care of mom, I cannot remember the last time that I socialized. 

[Jeepers]

Making things easier on the children is one of my main motivating forces to continue prepping too. I recently bought a smaller house with no stairs, closer to my son. I'm slowly equipping it with safety devices to make my life easier and to keep my independence for as long as possible. Even keeping my pantry filled weighs on my mind so he won't have to come all the way to my house to bring me a loaf of bread. Ya know.  

 

I've always been fiercely independent but I'll be 70 in a couple of months and I'm trying to be realistic. Or at least not in denial. Short term memory and balance are huge issues for me now. I do have good medical insurance and a long term health care plan. My D-ex has a Masters in business and has us both set up, but even that probably isn't enough with the cost of long term care ever rising.  Sigh.

[Darlene]

34 minutes ago, themartianchick said:

Thank you, Dogmom! People who have been through it truly understand how difficult it can be. That is one of the reasons that I felt the need to come back to Mrs. S. The role of a caregiver can be isolating. Between work and taking care of mom, I cannot remember the last time that I socialized. 

While I believe face to face interaction is important, for various reasons and seasons that is not always possible. 
 

The internet has the potential to be, and MrsS certainly is, a place to interact with like minded people. To make friends with those we would have otherwise never met. I know some of the most cherished friendships I’ve ever made have been with some of the ladies here at MrsS. Some I’ve been blessed to meet in person, others not, but after all these years, I have a history with many (up and down, good and not always so good), but cherished and impacting nonetheless. 
 

I’m glad you’re here and we’re glad you’re here. 

[Becca_Anne]

Welcome back! We are always to talk "shop" and everything else here you're in good company