Community Building

    I  have been through total guilt  casting out a young couple who were  living in my rental house for 4 months.... without paying a dime  because they lost their job when the Govt. come took away their kid.   I have found that One can only help those who want to help themselves .   I am sure they are dealing  drugs out of my house !!!      Anyway  they lost their kid , their jobs ,their car , and now their home and still not  reached bottom enough to turn around .     BUT I have to have money to pay the taxes and insurance .    Could it be that sometimes we have to weed out the weekest link?   I hated to think this way  but   they are not building the community .... they are like a canker sore. That being said they were not of the family and I can not support everyone .   I am sorry that  they will wander on somehow and someone else will have to deal with them .   

  Sorry about the split ,Sager,  {{{ BIG HUGS}}}    I know you did not take this step lightly  and am also sure there are totally mixed emotions !!! .DEEP BREATHS   ( this news even  makes me shaky ...But for the grace of God go I .)  For now  I stand on a solid rock of faithfulness of my husband .     I know my Hubs  HATES change and he Hates to loose   so I count on him sticking here like super glue .    I pray  for  your  clear thoughts in your new journey that  you find  a new security of who you are , what is your calling ,and purpose  .

  I watched a series "Frontier House "   after 6 months in the  cabin survival  2 out of three couples did not stay together when they returned to civilization .    They  found out  they stuck together when times were hard and they needed each other  for survival  but also  found many things that they did not like about themselves and each other that  could not  keep them united  when  facing the real world of today .

  Soul searching  is not an easy trip . When we are held to the fire  we come out refined / purified   . 

  I think  MANY  people will turn on each other .  We will not be able to trust those we thought we could   maybe we can not trust ourselves .I think we will all find some ugly truths about ourselves  when put to the test . Often the line between right and wrong sometimes gets a little fuzzy  but I do pray that  you do come to  the right path for the two of you .  

FM

PS.  hope I did not step on any toes  of the site rules .

Hi Sagerxx,

Sorry to hear about the decisions you're having to make, regarding your relationships. I haven't really followed this thread fully, so I don't know the story behind the move, except that it seemed like you had made a good move previously, in your opening post.

I'm at a similar juncture, though I also have 2 adult kids. We moved to a semi-rural place a few years ago, which was something of a compromise at the time. I can't get the message through to any of my friends and now it seems that my family is intent on simply waiting until the collapse becomes obvious (to me, this reeks of denial) and prefer to keep their fingers crossed that they can get through whatever happens with the friends they have now. So I'm largely trying to prepare alone. Which is bad enough, but doing it for people who don't want to help adjust their own lives is downright disheartening. Result: motivation low.

I don't think we have enough land here (0.75 acre and was something of a compromise at the time) to prepare properly whilst the rest of the community has its collective head in the sand, but there doesn't seem to be a resolution in sight, that doesn't involve some kind of separation.

Good luck.

[Edit: hmm, I realised I said some of this at the beginning of the year - it's still dragging on even after a family conference recently]

I too am sorry to hear of your situation.....but, when I think of whats to come, and how many will be tested not by their choosing I can't help but think you're going to be that much tougher, stronger, and prepared.  And if it works out, great.  If it doesn't, you get to push reset on your terms and start anew.  It sounds like you've got much to offer, don't settle.   

Sager,

My apologies if my take on this situation is inaccurate, but your marriage has to be more important than prepping. Lot's of people complain about their spouses not sharing their concerns and outlook, but I think it's a blessing because the truth tends to lie between two opposing points of view.

I hope you two can find your way back to one another, one way or another.

All the best my friend....Jeff

Last week and weekend we had a friend visiting from out of town, with her child.  She is suffering with moderate/advanced early onset Alzheimer's, although neither she nor her husband publicly acknowledge this, so there were no preparations for her condition made.  My family and I had to in essence drop what we had planned, and in general integrate their care (she was without her husband) into our life while they were here.  It was not easy to do, but once we saw that it needed to happen, we made corresponding attitude adjustments. This is not a "neighbor" but someone who is part of our extended community, like family.  This site has really helped me understand that cultivating generousity is one of those "preps" that is essential, and going to be more so in the coming time.  therefore, I try to look at these opportunities as prep work as much as storing food and water.  

And boy am I grateful for health.  WHoooo wheeee.

FM, I am so glad for you, that your son was not seriously injured in the motorcycle accident!!  That's great news!  And TG that you do have such a close knit community of people (family, friends and neighbors) watching out for each other!    

Small community accountability definitely improves behavior.  We see the same thing in our area.