*Following The Four R’s*
After much thought and going through what I did right and what I could have done better, I have come to the conclusion that you have to continuously Review, Revise, Renew and, Redo your plans on a regular basis.
If you have something that works, all well and good. But, what if you could learn from your mistakes? I mean, really look at what you had done, and be able to admit "yeah, I could have done better". I know this is difficult for many people to do. I use to be one of those people. However, it was because I was humbled by my experience that I have started to follow the four R’s.
What caused me to start this thought process? The night the two kids and I had to evacuate our home. I was very pleased that the kids had the car packed (meds, dogs, crates, weapons, strong box with important paperwork, cat in the carrier, extra clothes and footwear and the cell phones) within a 15-minute timeframe, while I worked to load two of the three horses onto a trailer. The third horse I walked four miles to my folks. It was thinking back on the events of that night and opening my eyes to the fact that, "I walked my horse to my folks".
Now, walking a horse to someone’s house may not seem like an "eye opener" to many, but it made all the difference in the world when I looked back on that night. It was the fact that I had a place to go where there was food, shelter and sleeping quarters for all of us. We were safe and eventually warm and dry. But, what I didn’t do is PLAN on what we would do if we hadn’t been within four miles of a place to go. It’s because I plan on us being able to stay home during a time of crisis that I let my guard down.
I hadn’t planned on a "ticket" for each of us, in the case that we would have to leave home and not return for a couple of days. I had taken our safety and "survivability" for granted. Not a good thing to do.
I am now working on a "ticket" for each of us. As we decide what we will pack, I am also going to have the kids each add their own "piece" to each of their tickets.
For example, it is a rare occasion to see my daughter without her sketch pad. I will suggest to her that we get a couple of extra sketch pads and pencils and add them to her supplies so she has them. Not only will this give her something to do, but it will keep her calmer and less likely to be upset.
Each one of us will have our own first aid kit and comfort foods (Pop tarts for example) in addition to regular supplies.
Another oversight on my part, supplies for the animals. Our animals are very much a part of our family. Had we been in a bug-out situation and I had run things the way I did on the night we had to leave, we would have been in bad shape! Not only would we be hard pressed to find food for ourselves, but we would also need to provide for the animals. I didn’t even have water in the car! Again, I had planned on staying at home in the event of an emergency.
There are many more notes that I have made for myself regarding this night and what we will be changing. The point I want to make is to always look for what you could improve upon. Learning from our mistakes is as important as learning from our experiences that go right the first time.
Don’t be afraid to admit when you’ve made a mistake or when you don’t know the answer to a question you may have. Ask others who are like minded. It could mean the difference between surviving and struggling or worse.
Kachina
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