Struggling with all the changes happening right now? Tasha shares a recipe for survivial in the midst of challenge!

Recipe for Survival in the Midst of Challenge

by Tasha Hackett

Life as we know it has changed and is changing. Seasons come and go. School is out, kids are restless, store shelves are bare. What should we be doing? To give us some tips for survival I’ve interviewed a retired Air Force Officer who went through extensive survival training. He gave me a clear recipe for survival. But first, a story.

In Honor of Popeye

“Just eat it,” he said. “It’s not going to kill you.” Dad scraped canned spinach onto his fork. “Mmmmm.” He washed it down with water from his green Tupperware cup, then flexed his bicep, Popeye style. “Anybody need more?” Sarcasm at his core, he offered up the can of mackerel to his three daughters. “More for me.” He put his fork into the can for another bite; apparently a father’s way of showing off to teenage girls. 

The girls did not honor him with an answer. Robin, at 11, teeth biting down on curled-in lips, sat in silent defiance. Her entire body challenged, “Just try to make me eat this.” Michelle, 14, kept her head down as the tears slowly dripped down her face. Tasha, 13, simply stared at him. Her attention kept straying to the pantry full of other, more desirable, things to eat. 

Mom was out for the day and it was Dad’s chance to teach his children how to do hard things. Hard things like eating lunch. A can of each: Mackerel, Diced Tomatoes, and Spinach, scooped onto the plates in three sloppy, wet, juicy piles. 

Tasha knew how to work this system. Stay under the radar. Take a tiny nibble. Fiddle with her water. Keep her face even, her mouth shut. Just waiting for him to leave the room so she could dump the rest in the trash and go on with her day. A missed lunch wouldn’t ruin her.

Mom would be home before dinner. 

Hallelujah. 

Except he didn’t leave. He sat. And waited. “Eat it.” His blue eyes focused on her. All sarcasm removed. 

A sob escaped Michelle. Robin did take a bite and audibly gagged. “Ew, Ew, Ew!” frantically chugging water. Gagging, with a heavy dose of complaining, she ate more of the cold, mushy, slimy spinach. 

Tasha rolled her eyes. “Good grief,” she thought. Her sisters were so dramatic. Mixing together a bit of the spinach, tomato, and mackerel, she ate it. Slowly, systematically, the whole plate. Yes, it was gross. Disgusting even. It was cold and wet. 

Chew, chew, swallow. The mackerel wasn’t so bad, though nothing about it was appealing. Something about scales and backbone still clinging to your lunch is unnerving, but it was at least fish. Tasha didn’t care for tomatoes on a good day, much less a soggy pile of them from a can. That spinach though… Lord have mercy. It is nearly impossible to swallow without gagging. When her dad wasn’t looking she released a shiver from head to toe. She wouldn’t award him with a reaction, but she sent a nasty face at his retreating back. Her younger sister looked at her, shocked at her audacity! Dad now stood at the sink, rinsing his plate. 

Lunch was a wrap, he went back to his home office to finish grading papers for his University courses. 

The three girls looked at each other. Michelle still cried at the injustice. Robin was scared he might come back and see Tasha making fun of him. Tasha spit her last bite into the trash. Carefully, quietly. She covered the evidence. 

“Come on, Robin. Let’s go.” The two younger girls took care of their now empty dishes, dumped the cans in the trash and fled the house to run free. It is rumored Michelle sat at the table for the rest of the afternoon. At least until Mom returned. 

Robin would be hungry. Tasha would survive.

At Least, That’s How I Remember It

The year was 2000 and we were slowly using up our over abundant supply of canned food. I could ask Dad and find out what was going on in his head at the time, but I’d rather keep my childhood spirit alive. Probably had something to do with the fact he had better things to do than fuss over lunch, “Here’s some food, eat it.” Perhaps he thought his daughters would learn a thing or two about First World Problems and be grateful for what was offered. Maybe it’s because we had a case of canned spinach expiring. Nobody wants to eat canned spinach, ever, unless it’s the end of times; even then I’ll take my chances.

Regardless, it has turned into a great family story I enjoy bringing up, “Hey Dad, remember that one time you made us eat canned spinach?” And then we all groan and laugh and shiver and poke fun at each other while he shakes his head and mumbles something about ungrateful children.

My Dad was a Prepper.

You may remember the drama of Y2K? We had a basement full of supplies. By October of 1999 our pantry was ready for whatever may come after New Year’s Eve. We’d been stocking up on canned foods from Aldi for months. There was no need for a last minute dash to the stores for us! We were prepared.

As a 13 year old Daddy’s girl, I was on-board with this preparation business. (Not the canned spinach and tomato business.) Excitment coursed through me and I felt this grand sense of adventure just waiting to happen. I had read all the I Survived books, as well as Hatchet, Brian’s Winter, The Long Winter, and My Side of the Mountain. I was READY to experience a true disaster.

Thankfully, nothing happened, at least not in my little world. We didn’t even get to experience the rush to buy toilet paper! Because we were already prepared.

Some think Dad was overreacting, overcautious, paranoid even.

Spoiler: He Wasn’t Worried

He wasn’t paranoid; he was preparing; he was wise; he was forward thinking. Y2K was another opportunity to teach his family how to be ready. We always had a pair of shoes under the bed, we knew where to meet in case of an emergency, and there was a blanket, gallon of water and jar of peanut butter in the back of the car in winter.

Incidentally, why store 5 lbs of wheat when you can store 50? Or 150? The national problem right now is because most people AREN’T prepared. They rushed out at the last minute to buy ALL THE TOILET PAPER. Hey World… if the end is near, toilet paper is going to be the least of your worries.

So what now?

Let’s say you weren’t prepared. Let’s say you weren’t prepared and you weren’t the one to buy all the toilet paper.

I called my dad. You’re welcome. As a retired Air Force Officer, he also went through Marine’s and extensive survival training covering survival in the ocean, forests, and enemy territory, etc. I didn’t ask him about the canned spinach incident, I asked what should people be doing RIGHT NOW. The people who are anxious, and worried, and scared. The ones who feel like the world has stopped and life as we know it is going to change forever.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO RIGHT NOW?

Should I go and see if there’s any toilet paper left!?!?!? When I asked him that, he literally became exasperated and began to lecture me until I told him I was kidding. KIDDING. I’m going with, “No,” in answer to that one. Here’s the gist of his advice for you.

Recipe for Survival

1. Remain calm.
2. Find someone who knows more than you about the situation and ask what to do. [Stop watching fear promoting news.]
3. Understand that your standard of living will change and likely decrease. [See #1]
4. Things will seem much easier when you accept #3. [See #1]
5. Assess what you need for life:
   1. Air [See #1. When you panic, your oxygen intake decreases which dramatically impairs thinking and rate of survival.]
   2. Protection from the elements [Sub-zero or extreme heat]
      1. Can you make it through the next 8 hours? [YES]
   3. Sleep [See #1. Sleep is higher on the list than either food, water, and especially toilet paper.]
      1. Can you survive the next 24 hours? [YES]
   4. Water
   5. Food
      1. Can you make it through the next 2 days? [YES]
6. Start drafting a plan for short-term and long-term survival. If you need practical step-by-step guidelines, this would be a good time to go through your home and take note of what you have. See #1 and #3
   1. Now you get to MacGyver your way out of any situation. [He says this is the fun part.]
7. Review steps 1-6 and realize that the current situation is not cause for much drama.

Too Much?

Do these steps seem extreme to you? I hope they do. I doubt any of us are in a situation where oxygen, the elements, sleep, and clean water are even on our radar. For me, taking stock of the basics helps me realize the interruption of our daily routine isn’t cause for alarm.

Be wise, be calm, go to bed on time, and drink water.

Thanks, Dad.

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Tasha, friend of Laura, was born on a military base in Maine, lived in nine different places before college, four homes and three towns to date since marriage in 2007. She currently lives in the middle of the USA where God has blessed the earth with extreme versions of all four seasons. When she is not feeding her family of six, including her middle-school-science-teaching husband, three sons and daughter, she can be found sewing, painting, sneaking Jalapeno Cheetos, dreaming of forests, staying out of debt, Instagramming for Laura at @heavenlyhomemaker and looking snazzy in a vintage tweed blazer while attempting to write an encouraging article with a baby on her lap.