Preparedness

Hard-pressed for time and ideas this week, I thought I would blend ideas from this blog and my other one.
My other blog is Tonette Joyce, Food, Friends, Family here on WordPress:

http://tonettejoycefoodfriendsfamily.wordpress.com/

The idea for it was inspired by people’s lack of confidence in being able to entertain in this busy world, and their fear of dealing with any extra needs of their guests. I try to impart knowledge and give easy-entertaining tips with recipes for simple-to-easy-but- fancy fare for any guest, including those with special or restricted diets. I try to show people how they can be prepared for the unexpected with little planning and I tell a few stories along the way.

Since I am a certified foodie, having been a professional cook, baker, restaurateur and personal chef, The Hound,(Jeff Salter), asked me for advice for storing extra food for emergency situations and recommended that I use his questions and my answers as a blog post. Following through with that suggestion started a series on Emergency Preparedness which has been a big hit. I only planned on one or two posts, but it has stretched out to four so far, and I have gotten requests from readers around the world,(literally; the U.S., Canada, Europe, Africa, Australia, East and South Asia), who want more. I am obliging. We’ve covered not only food storage, but suggested foods to store and many other topics including water reserves, lighting options, household and first aid supplies to keep on hand…and where to find room to store them. (Maybe you’d like to come and take a quick look; you may be surprised what you can have on-hand that you did not think of, that would make life a little easier in an emergency or when you have unexpected guest…which can constitute a real emergency!)

But another thought I’d like to bring up is one that was inspired by the first two postings this week. Foxes Iris and Janette let us in on their lives a little more by telling us that they both have lingering health problems, but have embraced it all as essential to who they are today. Hound Jeff and I also have chronic health issues that we are at peace with, knowing it has helped to shape us. All of us have or have had other, personal and family problems that we agree have improved us to be  more compassionate and capable people.
I know of many other people who were very self-contained until they were hit with physical pain and suffering and became better people for it; for others, it is too much to bear. And this idea is where I blend the blogs.

Those of us who have had lingering physical problems are better prepared emotionally to handle other crises, I believe, than those who breeze through life. I have seen many people crumble over small issues; if they only knew what some go through just to get out of bed in the morning.
After years of several ongoing health issues, I needed a biopsy and several other invasive tests to identify and rule-out several other problems possibly rearing their heads. My then-family doctor stretched them out over a couple of months; I asked for them to be consolidated.He  said, “No. I have had people wig-out over just getting their throat cut for the biopsy.” I rather took it in stride. When I was at a hospital awaiting one test, I picked up a pamphlet on stress. It said, “Any major life-changing event can cause major stress that  may make one feel overwhelmed. Events such as: Divorce, Serious illness, Bankruptcy, Loss of job, Loss of a business, Unplanned pregnancy, Death of a loved one, Car accident, Loss of home…” I was going through 7 of the 9. (The unplanned pregnancy was my teenage son and his future,now-ex,-wife’s. My husband and I  managed not to get divorced over all our other problems, but it wasn’t always easy and we were still hanging onto our home, but even that  wasn’t definite at the time.) Yet, there I was, coping.

I would love to win the lottery and go about doing good with it and yes, I would use some to make my life easier. I would be thrilled to know that my children and grandchildren would not want, but I am not sure I would allow them always have it on Easy Street. I would like to think that they would truly understand others, be sympathetic and be ready for what life is bound to hand them. Those closest to me have heard me say that someone “needs to have a problem, for their own sake”. I hope you always embrace your sufferings and feel stronger within yourself for them.

A  friend of mine and I were commiserating one day on how many problems were being thrown our way. She said to me, ” Life; it’s a test, Tonette, it’s all a test” to which I replied, “Yes, but I thought I was passing!”.

How about you? Are you passing the Test of Life? Do you feel more prepared for life from your trials? Are you grateful for what they have done for you? I hope you can look back and see that you gained from the experiences.

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