Survival Without The Disaster Attached

This is going to be a bit different from my normal posting. This is my story of surviving the normal day-to-day life of raising a family. Specifically this is about surviving in a house with two teenage boys that are always hungry.

If this sounds even remotely familiar, bear with me as I setup the scenario facing me earlier today. It was late morning and my youngest son walked in to inform me that he was "starving". He then proceeded to expand upon this statement by telling me that there was absolutely no food in the house.

Now I have to admit that things are a little sparse at the moment, but in no way is the house without food. Remember, a teenage boy can have strong opinions about what type of food is suitable for consumption. He wanted something, we just didn't have, whatever "it" happened to be at the moment. Time to think outside the box, or possibly inside the survival bag.

My Survival Rations

I have a large heavy plastic container about the size of a toolbox that fits in the back of a truck filled with survival items. It includes MREs, freeze-dried foods, ration bars, water, candles and all the other items you would expect. I decided that this was a great time to go visit the box and look for something that might be acceptable for his finicky taste buds.

My first surprise was that he had no idea that all of this existed. Although I know I have told him about this and he has helped me fill it, he acted like he had never seen this in his life. That being said, we started exploring the food options to help him survive the lack of food in the house. We first went through the many MREs available and he selected a cheese omelet with vegetables. Thinking I had solved today's crisis, I started putting things back.

Never being one to limit his options, my son asked about the other packages, those containing the freeze-dried meals. So, we started sorting through these and he decided he also needed the scrambled eggs with bacon. So, we placed everything back inside and proceeded to the kitchen to begin the preparation.

Preparation

Thinking that I might be able to further salvage something from his attack on the supplies I decided to let him prepare the meals. He decided that the MRE could be warmed in some boiling water that he heated in the microwave. Not exactly a basic survival item, the microwave, but he did understand that this was just one way to heat water.

While he let the MRE heat in the water, he read that the freeze-dried scrambled eggs with bacon needed 8 ounces of boiling water for best results. My son can do all types of math that make my eyes glass over, but he still struggles with a measuring cup (another story).  He added the water and used the zip type seal to close the package and proceeded to become a clock watcher.

After the longest 5 minutes in his life he drained off the excess water. Grabbing the MRE, freeze-dried eggs and a fork, he disappeared to his room. The only thing I heard him say was, "This is hot" as he tried to carry everything and still answer a text message on his phone.

Lessons Learned

Mission accomplished, my son had food! That aside, I realized that I had learned a few things along the way.

1. My son didn't seem to know about our survival supplies. 
2. Although I knew how to prepare the various meals, he didn't.
3. He thinks you need a measuring cup in your survival supplies to prepare meals.
4. The freeze-dried eggs with bacon are the best eggs he has ever had, according to him.
5. The MRE omelet had too many vegetables in it for his taste.

What I really learned is that my planning does no good if everyone in the family is not familiar with the basics. I might not always be with them during a disaster, they need to be better versed in the basics. Learning to use the tools we have such as a water bottle to measure would have solved the measuring cup issue. There is nothing like being taught something from your child. Now it is my job to share this new knowledge with the rest of my family. 

Spend some time with your family to review the items in your survival bag, kit or box. Consider having a family dinner using your existing items as a training session. Not only is it something different, it is a great way to spend time together. Let me know what you think in the comments below.