Yesterday, Tim came home. He needed to replace some ammunition for next hunting season. Much to his surprise, he found it on sale, and in a much bigger package than he ever would have bought it if it had not been on sale.
He showed me his very good deal, and then said, "I will never buy this ammo again in my life." He headed out of the room to put his bargain away.
I was shocked at his words, but he didn't notice. I stood there doing doing some mental math, and realized that he was right.
We ran up on the hill to talk to Levi. We had a message to deliver. I also had a game for the kids. I sat down on the floor in the dim livingroom and taught the kids how to play 'Nobody Here But Us Chickens' by the glow of oil lamps.
Tim talked about the political situation.
I wish he wouldn't. I try to tell him that not everyone sees it the same as we do. He doesn't read the room. I tried to remind him of that, but he held forth.
Levi said, interestedly, "You don't agree with him then?"
"No," I said, "I agree with him 100%. I just realize that people don't always see it the same way as we do."
But Tim talked on, about tariffs and how Canada was threatening to turn off power to New York, Michigan and Minnesota. I looked up from the floor over the tops of the children's heads and said, "We'll all be living like Amish before it is done," and laughed. So did everyone else.
Tim's latest 'can't drop it' topic is Social Security. He gets a lot of info from facebook. I have told him repeatedly that he cannot consider facebook info reliable. I mean, people will post just about any bs on it. But Tim is afraid, someplace deep down inside and I think that all this conflicting fb crap is making it worse. He went on at great length about social security and if it is lost, five of our tenants will not be able to pay rent...
I said, "Tim, the guy that said that social security will collapse in 30-90 days had just lost his job. He is upset. He's venting. Will that happen? We don't know for sure. We have got to stop worrying about what is going to happen and just prepare for the worse case scenario. We've been through hard times before."
Amish do not accept any money from the government. It is against their religion. I imagine that hearing Tim fret just made Levi all the more certain that the Amish are correct to avoid that money. He sat, rocking in his chair, stroking his beard as he listened to me. "Yes, that's right," he said, nodding. Tim looked unconvinced.
Later, I lay in bed as Tim snored next to me, thinking over the events of the day. About the last ammo he'd ever buy in his life. About the fear that he will not admit to but cannot stop talking about. We've worked hard all our lives, and planned carefully. Those plans may come to nothing before we are done. Who knows?
I've got my seed. Levi's cutting our boards for my raised bed. We're going to get some top soil in. My sister will bring us over a couple tractor loads of old manure that has rotted over a couple years outside their barn. I will get chickens. We are planting an acre of field corn for the deer and turkey. We owe money to no one. In short, what we are doing here is setting ourselves to be ready for hard times. If the hard times do not come, we'll certainly be no worse off for our preparations. If the hard times do come, well...we'll get through them.
Or we won't.
I guess I'm a little more pragmatic than Tim, which surprises me. I've always been the emotional one. Not sure when that all changed.
Today, I touched base with our executor to fine tune something that occurred to me overnight.
Tim does sound fearful.
ReplyDeleteThat woman is quite right. If we took a bottle of wine, Ray would generously offer a glass to someone else or two people, meaning there was enough for me, meaning I had pay the restaurant for a glass, which cost more than the bottle we brought along.
LOL. The picture made me laugh, but really, I'm not much of a drinker, wine or otherwise.
DeleteIt almost seems that though you talked to your executor about wine. 😊
ReplyDeleteNo...but I'm sure that my executor could hold forth on the topic to me!
DeleteIf all goes belly up, we'll all be in the same boat, and just have to figure it out.
ReplyDeleteWhat a comforting analogy. I'm not sure why it should be, but it is.
DeleteThe problem now is that we don't know what to worry about. Things change as the wind. Things are going to be very messed up. I don't think we'll fall off the edge of the world.
ReplyDeletePeople that I respect very much have, surprisingly, fallen victim to a lot of human trafficking rumors. One woman posted something to the effect of: she was sitting in a car waiting for her sleeping baby to wake up. 3 men walked by. In her mind, they were looking at the cars. They did nothing other than that. Later, she was told by a friend who works in the mall that someone tried to kidnap a child right from a cart. Be aware of your surroundings!!!! Trust your instincts!!!! she exhorted.
DeleteMy response: If there had been an attempted kidnapping, it would be all over the news. It wasn't. I reminded my friend that we had plenty of really bogeymen to worry about right now, without inventing more.
She contacted the original poster with what I had said. That poster replied that she had been wrong in her story. That a child in a store had been honking a bicycle horn non-stop. Another customer took the horn away and replaced it on the rack. The parent was outraged, a verbal exchange, security called, someone pulled a knife and ran from the store.
So...getting back to the incident in the parking lot which so alarmed the woman: three guys walked through the parking lot to the store, talking and glancing at cars. They did nothing wrong. Their actions did not warrant her suspicions. Her alarming post was a huge big nothing.
There is so much of that going on right now. That is just one incident. In the end, we can be carried away by our fears and panic about everything. Some people are doing just that.
I can absolutely see why he is scared--I am scared--but you do have to read the room--yes. And I wouldn't trust Facebook for information. I am not on social media sites and haven't been for years. All you can do is prepare for the worst case scenario as best as you can and wait to see what actually happens. Sounds like you guys will be ahead of the game. :)
ReplyDeleteLevi and Mattie have always been quick to assure us that they are not followers of the news, but just listening to them, it is clear to me that they have fallen prey to some of the more outrageous conspiracy theories. I always counter it, but I don't introduce the topic, not ever. They are good people and we have been kind to each other. There is not reason to put politics into this.
DeleteThere are other people who believe differently than we do who cannot help holding forth on their own opinions. Or maybe they believe the same, but are enraged about the situation. I believe in pushing back, but I do believe that anger is not going to save us. I know how how much I hate that, that their opinions are more important than our family ties or our friendships.
I understand. I live in Trump country up here in North Dakota. I don't bring up politics with neighbors in the building or anyone I don't know. I am not out to rile up anyone or ignite an argument. They'll find out (fairly soon, I think) who they voted for, and they will either still be happy about it or upset about it. But unless they become upset about it, no way anyone can talk to them anyways. They have to change their own minds...or not. Having family members on opposite sides...all I can do is stay away from or refuse to discuss politics. You love them anyways. They are still family. We are all family. :)
DeleteYep. You 'get it' alright. From one blue dot to another, keep the faith.
DeleteI agree there are too many things to worry about. I have always been a nervous wreck about finances. I was raised by spendthrifts. We too have a paid for home, did all the renovations necessary to "age in place" before we retired (except the darn bathroom but the pieces are in the spare room). We just ordered those metal troughs for gardening which we haven't done in years since we live by so many farm stands. My freezer is full of beef and my pantry is full of vegetables. I feel like we are prepared for an economic collapse. But I worry about my children, my friends, my neighbors, and my town. I saw how crazy everyone was during the pandemic. Now let's take away imports and jobs, too. . . .
ReplyDeleteWe all have our triggers, I think. I do worry about my children, but they are pretty resourceful people too. In the end, I think that we will meet the people we need to help, and that is my goal...to be prepared to help where ever I can.
DeleteTim had a stroke, right? I think I remember that. That can change how people think. His increased anxiety could be caused by the long term effects of the stroke. I feel the same as Tim though. I hate not knowing and it feels like the world has never been so chaotic as it is now. I'm glad he can sleep at least:)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that has something to do with it. I think also that discovering he wasn't immortal (cancer) knocked him a bit off kilter. I remember that same fear. I am 15 years out now, and I guess that I don't worry about that much anymore. He's only a year out. The trauma is fresh in his mind.
DeleteTim is not the only one worrying I fear. You seem well prepared though so I imagine will weather whatever storms may come your way.
ReplyDeleteI think so. Look back on all the hard times your nation has weathered...there has been plenty written about these times. You can see that people simply did what they had to do. I'm sure that it was not a party, but somehow, amidst all of it, there was joy found in that struggle.
DeleteWe are all worried and we don't all live in USA, I'm growing limited food at home, we also started eating seasonal, which means we are already used to not having certain food at different times of the year.
ReplyDeleteI think that everyone needs to take full measure of what they can and cannot do right now. I guess, for me, when I am physically doing something for the future, I am less fearful. This time has been a struggling time, mentally, due to weather. Spring is getting here, and soon I will be able to get moving on my projects. I'm sure that will make me less anxious.
DeleteThese are anxious times. Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.
ReplyDeleteIt seems the sensible thing to do, and really, we are very lucky compared to many people. We are able to do a lot more for ourselves than many others.
Deletei guess i didn't realize amish don't accept gov't money. wonder if levi and hubby realize but ss is already our money. 3 cents of every buck we ever earned went into our individual pile. it's not a hand out. wish we could collect as a lump. sounds like good neighbors. linda KS
ReplyDeleteOf course, Tim knows. Levi doesn't work for employers. He works the land and his sawmill.
DeleteThere is going to be a bumpy patch but we just have to ride it out and get to the other side.
ReplyDeleteKeeeeeeee-rect! No way to go but forward.
DeleteThere is so much information boiling around us, mixed in with fear. This is what the orange oaf and his sycophants want, as people will behave like a mob and believe anything they hear that sounds like an answer. My work is to BE the calm I wish to see, because I cannot allow others' fear to wash over me and stir me to action. Keep calm and carry on, taking wise actions based on information from wise sources. We know who the wise are by what they are NOT doing - they aren't fanning the flames of fear and panic.
ReplyDeleteDebbyMarch 7, 2025 at 11:04 AM
DeleteYou know, Karla, that is an interesting thing. Tim was immersed in the news yesterday. He was on the computer too. When he came to the livingroom, I just had a talk with him. I understand the fear, but really, we've lived through impossible times before. Totally not kidding about that. I mean, sometimes we look back and wonder how we did that. We don't remember being scared. Just a sense that it had to be done, and somehow we managed to figure a way to do it. While I understand the fear, we need to be able to see that what we fear is the unknown. We don't know what will happen. We need to balance the 'unknown' against what we do know. What is the known? That we are extremely resourceful people. We are kind people. We take care of the things that we can take care of. And as I talked, he listened. He went to bed. He has not been sleeping well, and he was still wide awake when I went to bed an hour later. I asked him if he was worrying. He said, "No. Not now." And I saw the importance of keeping calm for the sake of those around me. It is vital. It is also only fair. Tim was that resource for me many times through our years together.
Debby, yes, that is so true! We have been through some unbelievable things, as our own selves, as a country and as humans. The forces of, for lack of a better word, evil, have been with us and will always be with us as long as humans are involved. We haven't been able to change that in the 200,000 years we have walked this earth, yet, there are always pockets of those who try. There are always the helpers, like Mr. Rodgers said, and I consider myself one, I consider you and Tim helpers, Debby. You help yourselves by preparing and you help others do the same. I very much appreciate your wise and calm posts and links, Debby.
DeleteYou have planned so well for the future and you're already living through it, with the orange Emperor planning to take over the world.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I keep coming back to this: is actions are not sustainable. They are just not. You cannot alienate the world and most of your country and just keep on that path.
DeleteI'm not so much worried about myself. I think of all those in the world that he is hurting for no reason at all and it is just so sad and so disgusting and so mean.
ReplyDeleteI know. I can't save everyone, but I can do what I can to be be of some good where I am.
DeleteWe all deal with our fears and worries differently. This is how Tim deals with his.
ReplyDeleteThis is how Tim deals with his now. The change is a bit disconcerting at times.
DeleteI can definitely understand why that would be.
DeleteWe will be having elections soon and I am not sure of who to vote for. I am, I guess independent. One politician has been pushed by Trump so maybe not him if his ideas align with the criminal. All I have seen are negative ads from both parties. It would be nice to have some honesty in politics. I guess the orange faced idiot was honest, he told them what he was going to do and now they are finding out that he was not joking. He is just so cruel so I understand Tim being scared. You are getting well prepared so you will be better off than most. I fear for my daughter who works for an American company. But they really need her as she is so overworked doing the work of three people. She talks with her American colleagues and they seem to be not getting truthfull news down there in a red state. Gigi
ReplyDeleteYou have a new prime minister now. He seems like a pretty savvy guy. It's a terrible thing when you find yourself rooting for a foreign government to put your leaders in their place.
DeleteI think many, many people are experiencing "fear that (they) will not admit to but cannot stop talking about." In fact it's what drives so many people to political extremism.
ReplyDeleteI am worried about Tim.
DeleteIf Social security ends, we would be in a real.pickle, as that is 2/3 of our income, the other third being Larry's VA disability. So yeah boy, we would be hurting. But I don't think it will end, because there would be an uproar the lines of which this country has never seen. And yet, the drums of doom for the system have been pounding for years, so who knows. We have always grown most of our food, and been relatively self sufficient, so we could get by with a few big changes to our lifestyle. But so many don't have the same resources and it is them I fear for.
ReplyDeleteIt would damage us as well, don't get me wrong, but I just really don't see getting anxious about what could happen before it happens. I see making our voices known. I see stepping forward. I see letters to our representatives. What I do not see is fretting about it.
Delete