There May Come A Time...!

You know, the time may come that we have to make some very difficult choices.

Just suppose for the sake of argument, that you are getting ready to leave for a trip. You need to get on the road by a certain time, and there are several people that want to go along. When the time comes to leave, all the folks that wanted to go are still not ready, clothes not packed, showers not taken, plants not watered, pets not fed...whatever the reason.

Now the question is...how long do you wait for them to finally get ready? Do you delay your leaving for an hour? A day? Maybe a week? Just how long are you willing to wait?

Well, here are some questions that you need to ask yourself. How badly do you want them to go anyway? Are they necessary to you having a safe trip? Are they sharing the driving, helping pay for the gas? Do they have any car repair skills that might come in handy? Are they bringing any food? Can they get along with everyone else and not drive all their fellow travelers crazy? Just what do they bring to the table that would make them indispensable?

Here's where it becomes harder to make the choices! This is the time when you may need to decide who goes and who stays...never a easy choice, but one best made now instead of when all Hell is breaking loose, ya know?

I think that a time may come when we are going to have to make the decision based on a completely different set of standards than we use today. For example, just because someone is family doesn't give them a free ride. The same holds true for best friends! I know, it sounds heartless and cruel...but it's a fact of life. Some stay and some go! Period!

For children, the answer is clearly that they go! Mine, yours, anyone's! Children are the future and for the most part, more adaptable than the grownups. In most cases, spouses are in the group that must go. No question! But what about the rest? How do we decide if they go or stay?

That answer is going to be a difficult one, and will more than likely be completely different for each group! No one is going to be responsible for that decision except you...and maybe your spouse! You will have to live with these choices for a long time, so you might want to sit down and make a mental list of the pros and cons for each choice.

This is not going to be an easy task, for sure! Deciding if you can add someone to the group and still keep the unit safe is probably going to be one of the most difficult decisions you will ever have to make! The same will hold true if the need arises that someone , for whatever reason, needs to be removed from the list! Gut wrenching choices, for sure!

For me, some of the choices will be easy! Lucky for me, my mom and and my two sisters, along with their families...would bring with them many skills that could be very useful in an emergency! All of them are wizards in the kitchen, all of them are frugal (or are pretty close to it), all of them are fairly well organized, all of them can discuss things without flying off the handle, all of them can sew and mend very well, and most of all all of them are fiercely loyal to family! These are important traits to have, if and when the SHTF...

Now, I hope that none of these choices ever have to be made! I really do! However, like all important decisions, they need to be made BEFORE hand and not put off. They need to be done in a calm fashion, done in a private manner, and done in such a way that you won't carry a guilt trip with you for the rest of your life! There will be plenty of guilty feelings to go around when the time comes, believe me.

No one can really know what the future holds! No one has all the answers! No one can tell you what's right for you and your group or family! As with everything else we as Preppers must consider, the decision of selecting who goes and who stays should be done now. It needs to be done to the best of your ability. It needs to be done after praying about it, discussing it with your significant other or life partner. It needs to be done in a controlled situation, taking all the cold, hard facts into the consideration!

Bottom line...it needs to be done! The sooner the better, for bad or good, for everyone's sake...it just needs to be done!

Now, my friends, let's get some coffee and sit on the patio for a bit...and please, don't shoot the messenger! After all, it's only my opinion!