Warning, long post: I have always been a planner and a person who prepared for potential emergencies as long as my budget allowed. In the very early covid days, I saw the potential issues and I stocked up on N95 masks long before recommended, as well as some canned goods and a fully stocked freezer. But, once the shelves were bare and then a few months later we had the Texas deep freeze, I became a much more serious prepper. Now we have had the Texas floods, a freak situation where the best prep would have been extreme watchfulness once is started raining, and readiness to head out before it was terrible - like one person staying up all night or taking turns. Here is what I have learned so far:

1. There will always be things you don't anticipate - who would have thought that the stores would run out of toilet paper and paper towels, yeast, and gluten free flours? And who would have thought that the Texas freeze would be so bad that not only would power go down, but natural gas line valves would freeze. I expanded my "what if" scenarios and bought a generator and a couple of room sized indoor propane heaters.

2. We eat a lot of rice and not as many beans, and beans need spice. I pay much closer attention to what and how much food we actually eat and what it needs that is shelf stable for preparation. I also prep socks and underwear because I am super picky. I have celiac so I prep gluten free flour. I wear masks a lot - allergies, air quality issues, smoke, dust, and sneezing/coughing people in Costco. I feel much safer if I have a stockpile.

3. Cars and small/medium electronics and systems break. Have spare parts on hand. One thing we were bad at was generator maintenance. We had a dual fuel and used gas instead of propane, resulting in carburetor issues - mostly because we did not learn more about generators before using one.

4. Be careful not to let prepping turn into an obsession. If you can afford it, and view it as a hobby, or if it is something that helps you cope with the anxiety of life today and won't bankrupt you, then go for it as long as your family is on the same page. If not, try to understand why no. I cook every meal we eat - this frees up money for things like battery packs, lanterns, life straws, etc., so no one complains. I found early on that I became consumed with buying new stuff, because there is NEVER enough. So now, I pick one thing a month if I'm spending over $100 dollars for an item. For example, this month I bought two new backpacks (cheapish ones) for my husband and two water bladders.

5. Backpacks are very uncomfortable and it is hard to walk with a weighted pack. I am currently using a weighted pack for neighborhood walks. Be judicious in what you put in the pack if you plan to walk. We all think we will "bug in", but watching what happened in Kerville tells me be prepared to evacuate quickly with some essentials, and be fit enough to carry it and yourself out. (hence the new packs and water bladders). I try to learn from observing events.

6. Cheap stuff I do - we purchase distilled water in gallon containers. After they are empty, I fill them with tap water for use on washing dishes, etc. We could drink it in an emergency. Every time I order groceries, I add about $10 in long term food. I do not do the mylar bag thing, but I fortunately can afford to buy a couple of Auguson Farms $10 cans each month. I also don't do the "store what you eat, eat what you store" thing. This is because our diet consists of fresh fruit and vegetables and because we don't each much canned or dried. I do store what we will eat in a crisis. When the canned goods get close to expiring, I either cook them or donate them. I buy a package of some kind of batteries once a month. I am now vigilant about watching sales.

7. Growing food is really f-ing HARD. This year we have had a lot of rain, but usually we have dry, exceptionally hot summers with very bright sum. I have practice for 5 years. I had one good year. I am not giving up. This year, I put in a small fruit orchard in the front yard. I haven't killed anything this year tree-wise, but we lost several last year. If we are lucky, late freezes and/or drought will not kill every fruit crop on every tree. The tomatoes I am harvesting have a net cost of about $25 each so far this year, so I don't have this figured out, but it is a fun hobby.

8. Meds and health are a problem. My daughter and husband have significant mobility issues. I have preprepared with walkers, knee braces, etc., in the even that they have to walk longer distances than planned. I have stockpiled antibiotics from Jase. I have secured as much extra thyroid and blood pressure medicine as possible. It is still a concern. In a scenario where they can't get out of a dangerous situation, do I save myself for the other family members, or stay with them for whatever. I do not know the answer. We are investing in monthly injections so that they can lose weight, which will make things easier. It's pretty expensive but worth it for a lot of reasons.

9. Pets are also a problem. The dogs will eat what we eat. The tortoise will eat grass and weeds. I guess the cats are mostly on their own? And the bunny can eat greens as well. But I will need them should SHTF or even a minor short term issue occur.

10. Bugs and rodents can be an unexpected problem. In our area, the cockroaches are thick outdoors. I'm considering chickens, which sound like a lot of work to me, to help control the outdoor bug population. But I suggest including something like Home Defense spray in your stockpile. We are screwed if they stop selling it. One year while on vacation, rats chewed through one of the doors, and ate all the food. So we battled them for a month, and I redid my stored supplies, putting them in large sealed glass jars. Fortunately no recent issues.. Maybe also buy some animal traps, including large rat traps, with bait (found out they love beer)

Thanks for reading!