book « Robin Writes

And of course, you’re prepared for this, right?

The kid is prepared too—he left for church this morning at 7:00 a.m. with temps in the single digits and windchills hovering around -16. Naturally, I reminded him to make sure his windshield was clear and that, if he had any trouble, to stay in the car until help arrived. He texted me when he got there, and I’m sure he was still rolling his eyes.

See, the kid is 18 and, like all teenagers, thinks he’s invincible. Pretty sure that he secretly thinks we’re totally crazy for prepping, etc., although he hasn’t actually said anything. Yet.

He was wearing two coats this morning, but I saw no evidence of gloves. I suppose he could have used his pockets to keep his hands warm if he’d had to walk, although that could be awkward for any length of time. No hat, no scarf.

Hey, you try convincing a teenager . . .

However, he does have the requisite supplies in his Jeep: ice scraper, water, snacks, heat blanket, paracord, knife, matches, and a small first aid kit. And probably some other things. I seldom actually look in my kids’ cars, because it’s so horrifying . . . my daughter, for example, treats hers as a second closet . . .

But you do need to stay prepared for vehicle issues, any season, as well as for your general preps. Particularly because your vehicle is also your safety net if you have to bug out. Keep it maintained, keep supplies in the trunk or wherever, and have at least half a tank of gas at all times.

And if you don’t want to dress for the weather, at least take along those items you may need: extra coat, gloves, scarf, rain gear, and so forth.

As for being skeptical of “needing” preps, at least on a sizeable level, well, you never know . . . and yes, I know what I said last week, but things are changing. Have you looked at the market lately? A definite downhill slide; wonder why gas prices are dropping? That’s why. China sending troops to back-up Russia. The Saudis and Iran stirring up stuff, as usual of course, but stepping up their game.

Be careful. Be watchful.

I’m sure most people think about making those New Year’s resolutions, and many actually do. I’d like to know the percentage of people who follow through and keep them for a month, or six, or even all year . . .

I don’t need to make any this year, because I found the ones I’d written for both 2005 and 2009.

Let’s take a look:

2005—

Lose 10 pounds

Stop smoking

Do one fun thing with kids each week

Have one date with Dennis each week

Ten years ago. How did I do? Well, I’ve certainly lost those ten pounds; and found them, and lost them. I did not stop smoking. My bad. Do one fun thing with the kids each week? Can’t remember back that far, but currently my kids are 29, 23, and 18. “Fun” and “mom” don’t really go together anymore . . .

Dates with my husband? Well, in the past year those consist of things like laying floor tile or installing cabinets . . . Do we party or what??

Let’s look at 2009—

Buy one carton, stop smoking when finished

Lose 30 pounds – XXX start

Declutter and downsize stuff

Finish genealogy project

Finish novel

Finish degree

Hmm. Again with the smoking. Still not there. Lose 30 pounds?? WTH?? Well, the good news is that I also wrote down my current weight, and that hasn’t changed. And no, I’m not telling!

Declutter and downsize. Well, in November of 2010 we moved into this house, and now we’re moving to the farm, so yes, this is happening!

Finish my genealogy project. Okay, maybe in ten years . . . honestly, it’s such a huge project, and ongoing, and . . . well, I do still work on it. Sometimes.

Finish novel. YAY! I did this, three times! I did not do it in 2009, but 2012-2013, and that wasn’t the book I was talking about then, but yes, goal accomplished!

Finish my degree. Well, this one is a long story:

I graduated high school a year early, at the end of my junior year. High school was not fun, it was a PITA. So I went off to college.

Five times.

Never could manage more than a semester or two at a time, I don’t know why. So finally, around 2005 I think, I decided to look up how many hours I had finished. It took a while, since I didn’t quite remember all the schools I’d attended, but then I remembered the last one (okay, the third and the fifth, same school) and discovered they had an online program now.

Glory be.

I signed up and finished about 60 hours in a year. Almost there!

Then we moved back to STL, and I planned to CLEP the rest but that was about when my middle kid decided to go nuts. I was a little busy dealing with all that—police, DFS, juvie, military school, etc., etc. So I bit the bullet and enrolled again. 3.9. thankyouverymuch, until that damn algebra could no longer be avoided.

And try, I did—I emailed profs, deans, college president. No dice. But I did manage a D. As my daughter would say, “D is for degree!”

May of 2011. Finally. Only took me 30 years. Oy.

So there’s a brief, if incomplete, history of my New Year’s resolutions. I’m sure there are more around somewhere, but my computer can’t find them. And I’m equally sure I didn’t handwrite them; those kinds of things can be found by anyone!

Basically, each year, my NYRs are the same things: to get healthier and to get things done. I don’t think I need a list for that, I know what they are—apparently the same things I’ve been working on for years. Decades. Good grief. I should know them by now.

And I do. And I will.

So there.