Survival Skills

Back in the 1970's we were a family with young children. The US was experiencing a recession and "fuel shortage scares". There was predictions of a major depression somewhat like the 1930's in the future. We did not know if we would live to see a major depression or what our children might face in their adult lives.
We remember deliberately making some choices to help our children develop some survival skills. Living on a farm gave us the opportunity to buy a cow that provided enough milk for table use. We made our own cheese, cottage cheese and butter. Some of our children learned to milk a cow by hand. My husband taught our sons to fix things by using what we had on hand like bale twine and plow shares. He taught creativity like making a small tool with "junk parts" and a welder. They learned how to fix anything from a small kitchen appliance to the combine. My husband sought out professional electricians, plumbers and mechanics to learn the "how-to's" for many "do-it-yourself" projects.
We baked our own bread using some of the wheat grown in our fields. We grew fruits and vegetables to preserve for winter use. We felt so blessed when the canning jars were filled, apples and corn were dried, the chest freezer held more vegetables and fruits. Potatoes were stored in the cold cellar. We butchered the grass fed beef we raised on our pasture and stashed it away in the freezer. Venison and other game found their way into the freezer or canning jars.
Our daughters learned to make their own clothing. They could also use discarded scraps of fabric to make a book cover, doll clothing, a purse, curtains or whatever they desired.
Today our children are grown and some of them are raising their own families. We are so blessed to see all of them using "survival skills" in one way or another. It may not be in exactly the same ways we did, but we can observe them "making do" with the resources they have on hand. Last evening we dropped in at one daughter's house to find her husband mixing up a bucket of homemade laundry soap. Other daughters make their own bread regularly. Another daughter finds scrap material and designs curtains for her room. They can decorate a cake or design their own decorations or gifts by using available resources.
Our sons know how to repair vehicles or appliances. They can replace a roof, fix the kitchen sink or build a barn by harvesting trees from our woodlot.
Eternal values are still the most important aspects of life, but in a shaky economy, we are blessed to observe grown children knowing "how to make do" or "do without".