Relax!

Once in a while my wife tells me to relax. I worry too much. Perhaps she's right. I must admit to being a bit of a news hound. I follow what's going on all over the world. The world's financial crisis is worse than most people realize. The environment is in the trash. Peak oil is here and already taking its toll. Grain harvests are way down. Armies are on the move. The list goes on and on. So yeah, I worry. I worry what kind of world my kids and grandkids will grow up in.

Now a lot of guy's wives tell them to stop getting all worked out over the nasty stuff out there. How many preppers complain that their wives just don't get it? It's not just guys, there are plenty of women who's men are in denial. If you aren't into survival, what are you into? Deadism?

So now and then, my wife tells me to relax. She's polite about it. Kind even. It's not like we fight about it.

Here's the thing, she's not in denial. She knows what's going on in the world. Perhaps she doesn't follow the day to day minutia of things, but she sees the trends. She's on-board with self reliance. After all, she did move out here in the woods with me. In fact, she was pushing to get out of town faster than I was.

My lovely wife is the one who does most of the garden work. I do the heavy lifting, but she does the rest. She wants to be totally off the grid as much or more than I want to. She doesn't complain about the hardships of rural living. On my birthday she took me to a gun shop and told me to pick out any handgun in the place. She's a darn good shot herself. She's pushing for a greenhouse. It was on the "someday" list until she kicked me into gear. Construction starts in a week.

The first car I converted to run on waste vegetable oil is registered in her name. It's her car. She's the one who wanted a 4x4 veggie burning full sized diesel truck. I'd lived my whole life without ever having a vehicle like that. My lovely wife showed me how we'd benefit from having one. She was right. It's paid for itself.

She never wanted to keep up with the Joneses. She'd rather shop at hardware stores than Macy's. Thrift stores are a real thrill. She'd rather tent than stay in a hotel. She's a pearl of great price.

So once in a while she tells me to relax. Okay, she's earned the right. We are doing all that we can reasonably do. No sense my getting worked up about the stuff I can't control. Better to keep the blood pressure down and not kill myself with worry.

Thanks love. I'll relax.

-Sixbears