I got into prepping many years ago, although I did not know it was prepping. My father, who was the one who always bought the groceries, went to the store to buy food each day because he did not think it was necessary to have more than one day’s worth of food in the house. After my parents divorced, that changed. My mother and I started buying one to two weeks’ worth of food at a time. In fact, I felt such peace with having the extra food in the house that I used to stand for several minutes many times a day looking into the pantry at all of the food that was in there. To me that extra food was like a treasure that I needed to admire.
Because of September 11, 2001, my prepping went into high gear. I became afraid. My sense of safety was gone, and I began imagining all of the other things that could happen. I was afraid that something might happen and I would not have enough stuff (food, candles, wood, toilet paper, etc.) at my house to provide for my family and pets for an extended amount of time. I started making lists of what was used at my house and how long it lasted from beginning to end. That was the beginning of buying in bulk.
My non-house prepping really started about seven years ago when I had to make a day trip to the Columbus, Ohio and back. A day or so before the trip, Ohio was hit hard by an ice storm. A round trip that should have lasted only seven hours ended up taking 12 hours. During that trip, I realized how unprepared I was in the car. I did not have any blankets in case of emergency. Also, I did not have a working flashlight or even a map of Ohio until I bought those things when I stopped for gas. Fear again resulted in action. I now make
sure that I have provisions for every being (two-legged and four-legged) in my car.
Do I still worry? Yes. Does prepping help? Yes, but I guess I am one of those who feels that I will never be completely prepped so I keep at it.
R.M. , you are certainly right. We can never be a hundred percent prepared for anything. Most of us hope that “it” never happens. They say that a car is an extension of your home so why not have it set up? One thing I have learned from prepping is to think comfort. It’s kind of like the old saying, “I’d rather have one and not need it, then to need it and not have it.” Great essay!! Good luck!!