I was over at Trace My Preps the other day. I am so behind on blog reading, but I am trying like crazy to make it at least once a week to the blogs I really value. There are a lot of good blogs I value, so it is a challenge, but still I try.
Anyway, Trace wrote about teaching his kids to use a chainsaw. The post was about more than learning a simple skill. It’s good, go take a peak
I thought about his article last night when M was retelling us a story about her friend. Her friend is newly licensed(no M can not ride with her) and got lost. For some reason this girl called M and not her parents. We will call her S.
We have know S for a long time and we love her. Good girl, but apparently she is lacking in some skills like reading a map and staying calm.
She calls M and explains she is lost.
M-where are you and where are you trying to get to?
S- I am at the xxx near my house just passed the yyy.
M- If you are by the xxx then you can’t be passed the yyy.
S- I don’t know. I am late, I am never going to get there, what am I going to do?
M- Let’s start with…calm down. Your in town, near your house, your fine. Listening to me I will tell you how to get there.
The sweet child was so worked up that she couldn’t even process basic commands like turn right. M told the story in hilarious detail, but I can’t do it justice. Anyway, after she was done I said, “You know what is sad? That was me about 2 years ago.”
I could read a map, but if I got myself lost(outside of my town), I would tend to panic and call my husband. He would stay on the phone with me and guide me back to a place I knew, usually a freeway. I got lost in a very bad part of DC once. I was a hysterical mess.
It is vitally important to overtly teach our kids what we think is valuable. As Trace says manners and basic right from wrong, but also first aid, cooking, paying bills, saving, and even how to use a chainsaw(by the way I can and have many times for many years).
My husband told M there was no way he would let her in a car unless she knew how to change a tire, the oil, knew what all the lights meant, and knew map skills as well as letting us know where she was going and how she planned to get there. She said, “Duh” in a sweet not snotty tone.
I love that M is finally coming around to “This is how we do things now” and has stopped fighting it. Moreover, clearly she is paying attention and her own life experiences are telling her that being prepared and thinking about things ahead of time is a good idea.
Yesterday she came home from school and I asked if I could take her vitals. She said, “umm, yeah, give me a second” I take her vitals everyday. Not because she needs monitoring, but because my EMT instructors said listen to everyone you can, everyday. So, everyday, I do. Anyway, when I first started doing the gun thing or the knife thing, M would roll her eyes and say something like “You are so strange” Now, she nonchalantly says, “Umm, sure” I kind of miss her calling me whacka, but I am loving her learning and adjusting. She is getting it! She is seeing the value and she is applying them.
I am a happy, happy mama!
Trace also has a killer salsa recipe up. Totally want to try it.
Fun story, sounds like M is a great friend!
Out here the standard response from our kids when asked where they were was – “I don’t know . . . there’s a barn, a silo, a cornfield and a cow . . . any idea where I am??”
‘course, that’s all we got out here . . . . barns, silos, corn and beans, cows, pigs . . . . and sometimes I still wonder where I am!!
Sounds like M is well on her way to being a fully independent critter! Congrats!
True.
Funny though somehow I didn’t get lost much growing up in Iowa.
I did end up in a ditch once though. Walked to the nearest farm house. It was snowing the like crazy. I was 17. The woman made me a Hot Toddy(with alcohol) and her husband and their neighbor pulled my little Tempo out….lol
Admitting you drove a Tempo is the first step in recovery! LOL
It amazes me how lacking in common sense and awareness kids today can be. My son is 22 and got lost hiking on a MARKED trail at our local state park. Didn’t think to print a map, but he said, “I don’t have trail maps on my phone.” And he’s a former Boy Scout! LOL
Combine lack of common sense with dependence on technology and I get scared. I have GPS on my phone and I carry a spare GPS to record trails, but I also hike with a compass and keep track of directions I’m going when hiking on new trails. I guess I’m spatially aware of where I’m going.
I also made sure my daughter could do basic mechanics, know what the lights mean, and such. If we got into a SHTF scenario, they would come to us because they know we are prepared, can remain calm, and know what to do when things go bad. We don’t obsess about being prepared, but we have the supplies and COMMON SENSE to get through most things.
After the April 2011 tornadoes in Alabama, we were without basics for a week, but we had supplies and plans to handle it. Guess where our kids holed up? Yup. Rancho Jeepo. lol
I know how you feel! It’s wonderful when one day, they do something that tells you they were listening & learning, even though they were eye-rolling and shoulder shrugging! All 3 of mine still “surprise” me now & again! I consider it a nice surprise.
Just makes me smile happy, reading yours today. Yay, Team M!
Wise man, Trace: “Remember to teach your kids–and your spouse–the skills you know. You may not be around when they are necessary.” This I know too well from experience.
My wife went walking just yesterday and was sure to let me know where she was hiking. Before I even asked her, she said, “Yes, I have my phone and my taser.”
She won’t shoot a gun (I know, I know…), but has no problem using a Taser C2 with laser sight. 🙂
I’m getting there.
Trust me, they NEVER stop calling… 🙂 Remind me to tell you that story the next time we get together to shoot…
I will!
I used to take emergency road service calls for AAA. There are ALOT of people like that out there….its decidedly scary to be honest! We got calls daily from people who’d gotten lost and needed help finding out where they were.
Never thought about it before, but there are so many folks just clueless. I used to think it was just me(18mos. Ago), but man, it’s almost everyone.
You ever stop to think why folks don’t know where they are at? I’m willing to bet the average large city dweller lives, works, plays in a relatively small area. I heard once that the average dweller in New York City lives their whole life in an area of several square blocks. The average kid in one of those cities probably never gets out of town….well…maybe the family goes someplace on vacation….but how far off the beaten path do they go? For that matter, how well prepared are they if something happens that they are literally stranded on some roadside at night in the middle of winter. Simply put, imho people today have lost all kinds of skills or senses that once were a part of everyday life. I think it was Dan’l Boone who once said “I wasn’t lost, I knew where I was, just didn’t know how to get to where I wanted to go.” Looking back to those who have gone before I am kind of amazed we have come as far as we have, really. Have I ever gotten lost? Yup. Stupid me didn’t pay attention to my compass. Thank god there was a bright moon out. I simply started to head in a straight direction with my compass and I finally came out 20 miles from where I left the road originally. speaking of compasses…..I would many times over use/take one of those than some electronic gadget. What happens if you fall or in some way the dang thing decides to go south?
That is true. Most people don’t go to far from home, but I still want the girls to know where they are going and how to get there:)
It’s so easy to assume our kids know the skills we know (when of course we know they don’t – if we stop to think about it). As parents we’re the ones who have to teach them. More than once I’ve thought, “Didn’t your parents teach you that?”, quickly followed by “oh yea, I’m the parent”, and an impromptu teaching moment.
Especially as preppers we have to teach them even more to help them be ready for the world that may be coming…
I’m proud of you doing your EMT training. As a former military medic and civilian paramedic it’d be fun to help you guys study and understand what’s really important and what’s BS (though I’m sure your starting to get a feel for that).
(Also it’s still a very pleasant surprise to see my name and website on someone else’s blog — I don’t think that will ever stop being cool!)
Lol. I remember the very first time I saw my name…I was a new blogger and I had clicked on a blog I had never read(The Smallest Minority). He was talking about some chic, she sounded interesting, so I clicked the link and it went to my blog…lol completely freaked me out. Then I wrote that Open Letter post and was linked a lot, but still every single time I am both very flattered and humbled. It never gets old when someone else thinks positively of your thoughts, ideas, posts…