JUST ANOTHER DAY, AND FOOD STORAGE MADE IT BETTER
My sisters and I take care of our sweet 81-year-old mother on a rotating schedule and this week she’s staying with me. She’s had Alzheimer’s for about 10 years and then suffered a stroke two years ago. Since that time, it’s been a wonderful privilege to care for the woman who always cared for us.
Today was fairly busy but that’s normal, right? First, I squeezed in time for prayer and scripture study, read the Book of Mormon with Lizzie for maybe six minutes, and then raced her to school while my mom was still asleep. Next it was time for my mom to get up, be showered, eat her breakfast, and head back to bed for her morning nap. While she was sleeping, I got myself ready for the day, cleaned up the kitchen, washed and folded a few loads of laundry, vacuumed the main floor, scrubbed a bathroom, and worked on my talk for upcoming presentations.
When my mother woke up I fed her a late lunch and raced her to a hair appointment. As soon as she was settled in the chair, I took off for the bank and post office, making it back just as the last spritz of hairspray was being applied. Then we headed back home where Carin, a dear friend and makeup artist, was waiting to do my mother’s makeup for a special photography session. During that time, one of my sisters picked up Lizzie from school and dropped her off at home so that I could supervise the homework, snack, and piano practise before she drove Lizzie to her piano lesson. (It takes a village.) As soon as the photographer left my house, I bundled up my mom and took her to visit one of her sisters and deliver a belated Christmas present.
By the time I got home it was 7:00, everyone was hungry, and I had nothing planned for dinner. (Please tell me you’ve been there.) This is where my food storage makes a real difference in my daily life. I cracked open a can of chicken chunks and heated it with a can of cream of chicken soup and half a cup of powdered milk. That took 2 minutes to prepare. Then I sliced three zucchini and half an onion and sauteed or almost burned them in some olive oil and garlic. While that was going, I had leftover cooked brown rice heating in the microwave. On his way home from work, my husband picked up Lizzie from piano and stopped at the grocery store for the birthday treat she needed for her school class tomorrow. Then he quickly set the table, washed lettuce leaves, and I topped them with sliced tomatoes and dressing. I think we had a complete meal ready in 10 minutes. It wasn’t anything amazing but it was nice.
You know, with the economy tanking and jobs being lost everywhere, more people are beginning to see the obvious advantages of food storage. In addition to emergency preparedness, having a food storage helps ME navigate the day-to-day challenges. It helps me provide basic meals for my family when I simply don’t have enough time to think about food. Having food storage has meant that even hectic days have a better chance of ending with a family meal enjoyed in our home.
Tags: advantages of being prepared, eating your food storage, life on the run
January 21st, 2009 at 8:09 am
I am so glad that you are able to help care for your mom. It is a blessing to have that opportunity to be of service to someone who has devoted their whole life to being of service to us. Leon’s mom had Alzheimers for several years also and even though she was in a care facility I spent several days a week helping to care for her there and just being with her. And in the end I was there day and night until she passed away.
I am very thankful also for all that food I have stashed away in the basement. Whithout it life would be spent coming and going to the grocery store, eating out because I have nothing quick to fix and purchasing more from the store than I really need. I have the peace of mind that if anything should happen and a job is lost or some major calamity come our way, I have in my basement food enough to feed my family. It may not be the best tasting at times but that’s not the point, I can care for my family because I have “prepared” as I have been asked to do.
Thank you for letting me know that I’m not the only one with a crazy life at times.
January 21st, 2009 at 10:04 am
Hey, with balls dropping all around me….every day, food storage is the much needed safety net. So nice to know that there’s ONE LESS THING to worry about!
I’m happy you mentioned your opportunity to help with care for your mother-in-law. I’m sure that more of us are going to be having that experience. Until two years ago, I had never done anything like this before and it has been great. This type of work, just helping my mother with her personal needs, feels like a luxury in many ways. I’m lucky I can sort of turn my interior design work on and off as needed.
January 21st, 2009 at 10:30 am
I love your optimistic attitude on an otherwise routinely, hectic day. You are so down to earth and it motivates me to do better. Thanks!
January 21st, 2009 at 10:46 am
Hey Liesa, I was excited about my Christmas gift from my husband, and you of all people would appreciate it:) Our gifts to each other this last Christmas were agreed ahead of time to be gifts that had to do with self reliance. I bought him a gun (that’s a whole other topic , but we felt good about it at this time in our lives and in the political scheme of things) and he bought me a nice food dehydrator and food strainer (for mashing/straining fruits & veggies to bottle and can). I am excited and we’ve enjoyed dehydrating the apples for snacks as they have been on sale lately. One thing I have loved about my food storage is the bottled peaches and applesauce. It is a quick, delicious addition to dinner and it feels good to have shelves full of beautiful foods to eat.
January 21st, 2009 at 11:55 am
“CUE THE MUSIC!”
(Brad Paisley’s “I’m So Much Cooling Online” starts pumpin’)
Thanks Annalee! I’m the kind of person that needs to learn from YOU! I’ve bottled a tiny bit but certainly not enough to really know what I’m doing. I hope to do better this summer. Right now we’re enjoying canned peaches, from the Home Canning Center and they are WONDERFUL. They must have actually been ripe when they were preserved! Go figure. They taste as good as my mom’s, and she’s enjoying about a can a day.
In the event of an emergency, I hope your husband can lead the hunting party and I’ll be one of your worker bees!
January 24th, 2009 at 9:39 am
You hit it right on the nail!! That is, indeed, one of the most wonderful things of food storage!! It can be VERY simple.
Our food storage is everything we have gathered of food and use/rotate it.
Most meals are not real stressful in our home as we have learned to be most familiar with absolutely everything we have.
Wheat you would think of as stressful – but we learned that when you make one loave of bread – make two more for the freezer. So, some nights (like last night) we had chilli mac (we call goolash) and homecanned applesauce. It was a fulfilling meal! All from food storage.
Did you ever find out why your bread did not rise?
January 25th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
NOOOOO! I don’t know what went wrong. I asked the evil Lump what it’s problem was, but it just ignored me. My best idea is that the water was too hot when I added it to the Saf Instant Yeast. I admit that it was boiling when I took it out of the microwave. I know, I’m a bad person.
But good for you Becky, to have your food storage…groove on! It really does make the job of planning and preparing meals much easier, and I need all the help I can get.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
That picture of Grandma is so beautiful! You guys did an amazing job – she looks just like she did before alzheimers! Man, I love her!!
You’re amazing! Keep up the great work!
January 26th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Thanks Emily. Maybe I’ll be able to post the picture at some point. She’s a love, in every way! And thanks so much for directing your friends to the website. I hope the information is helpful!