The Others

Maybe you’ve heard.
You know,
that we live in a

very

small
town.

Pop: 7,902

In 1881, the pop was mostly ginger ale though. : )
You’d think after living in here for nearly two years now we’d know more people. I mean, the odds are in our favor, right?
However, those odds are quite skewed by a few factors:
1) the New England disposition
2) the demographic of the Millis population (there’s slim-to-none women my age with children- this has to a lot to do with the cost of living and some to do with lifestyle choices)
3) Caleb is not in school yet.
and 4) I’m a homebody who lives at the very end of a forgotten street.

Our primary social outlet is the Church.
And I love my friends at church but-

… well, that’s just it. I’m not quite sure how to end that sentence. All I know is that it is a pretty big blank to fill.

So Mike and I committed to reach out to our community more, mostly as an attempt to make more friends. We sat down after General Conference and planned on serving or attending a community function each month up until January.

Last Friday we attended a free dinner and a movie night at a local church. We decided to leave Caleb with a friend, so it would be more like a date night and less stressful.

The church is only a minute drive from our house, really. Caleb likes the structure for its clock and tall green doors. When entering the church I quickly realized this church’s floor plan was nothing like I had ever experienced. It was not obvious. And Mike and I, Mr. and Mrs. Magellan, overlooked the directory signs in the entryway (but we saw them on our way out!). We navigated ourselves through a hallway of class rooms, and up a darkened staircase, following distant voices.

The activity was held in a room very much like our cultural hall, just smaller. It consisted of a stage and a serving area attached to a well-equipped kitchen. Six oblong tables were set up (and I know from serving on the activities committee those fit 10 chairs each) along with a screen and projector. They were showing Johnny Tremain to compliment the town’s Revolutionary War reenactment happening the next day. (EPIC.)


The food was nothing special. And I liked it. : )
There was chips, salad, crock pot mac n’ cheese and store-bought lasagna. Also garlic bread prepared by the Reverend who admitted, “Domestic Goddess, I am not!” before serving us.
We talked to her quite a bit, and she was very approachable, a very funny lady.
I offered to bring something the next time we would attend and suggested I could bring a beverage. To which the Reverend thought I was alluding to alcohol. Oops. We had a good laugh over that once I clarified. And then she told us if we have to bring something desserts are always in demand and that food was a big part of their church culture. I said something like “Oh yeah, in our church too.” And then we outted ourselves as Mormons that attended church in Franklin.
…Rather than the revelation of our religion, she was taken aback that there was a church building in Franklin now, she only knew about the Foxboro building. Our conversation concluded later with her telling us she’ll give us the high-sign once dessert was on the table. And she did. Dessert was store-brought cookies. They were scrumptious.

It was a very humbling experience.
Mike and I were released as activities committee a few weeks ago. We know what it is like to throw together an event. We always planned for 120 people.
Only about thirty people, if that, attended the dinner we went to Friday night. The food was simple. Just plastic tablecloths adorned the tables. Not a centerpiece in sight. And it was a nice night.
It has been a very long while since we were able to just sit and enjoy an activity like that and appreciate the simplicity of it. And I loved (and took comfort) knowing that these people weren’t killing themselves organizing it all.
I think they understand, far better than I, that they were performing a service and trying to meet a need rather than creating an event for a group of people. They chose to focus on meeting the spiritual need rather than the preferences of others. I think that was a flaw for me while being on the activities committee, I chose to busy myself more with the fear of the disapproval of church members rather than occupying my resources on addressing a need. That’s’ hard to admit, but very true.

“Meeting a need not a standard” on a post-it note needs to go on my fridge.

There.
Blogdom is as good a place as any.

Please comment and share how a church activity has met a need of yours

OR tell me how you’re doing these days ‘cause I really want to know.

Veintisiete

27 weeks

Overdue.

Starting at the top left corner going clockwise:
my parents house, the Peaks, Heritage Square.

Flagstaff. You’ve probably heard of it around here. Elevation 6906. Founded 1882. “World’s First International Dark Sky City” so the sign claims. Population: 60 thousand something.
Flagstaff. My home.
It’s where I met Mike.
Where I graduated from high school and college.
And where I delivered Caleb.

Starting at the top left corner going clockwise:
My dad shoveling debris from the flood, a house damaged in Bellemont, the Schultz Fire.

This year alone, Flagstaff has experienced a fire that burnt over 15,000 acres and floods as an attendant, this past week tornados touched down near Bellemont, a community right outside of Flagstaff (an area that is part of our old ward).
Did I mention Flagstaff is surrounded by volcanoes? No matter if the field is dormant or extinct with the luck they have been having, who knows.

My thoughts had started revisiting emergency preparedness last Friday as I was prepping for General Conference. I was boiling chicken and my rolls were on their second rise when – my microwave gave that telling beep! that the power went out. It was noon. Luckily Caleb had a friend over so they entertained themselves.

An hour passed. Then two. Then three. FOUR.

It was barely sprinkling out! It was sunny! Yet my power had not returned. Ugh!
I begin to wonder what I’d cook for dinner without a stove, microwave, crock pot, toaster or grill. I resolved we’d dip into our reserves, empty out the fridge and even eat cold cereal if we had to.
After returning Caleb’s friend to his mother (yes, I had two toddlers in my un-powered house for four hours and it was no sweat), upon our arrival home I was greeted by the flicker of my microwave. It was 5:00 and we achieved electric euphoria. Whew.
(After a four-hour rise my rolls turned out a-mazing, by the way!)

With all these events considered, I decided it was time to compile our family’s 72 hours-worth of food. Why 72 hours? You may ask. Welp, supposedly, that’s how long it will take the government or community to respond to an emergency need.

Now, I have food storage. Lots of it. But not as an investment for natural disasters rather financial. Just in case, you know, my husband plans on getting his PhD or something and has to take a major pay cut. Crazier things have happened, right? : )

When approaching this project I found out there were many things to consider: weight of the food, portability, method of preparing, amount of sodium (which correlates with how much water you’ll need), the number of calories and not to mention whether my toddler will eat it.
I could have researched and strategized this to death and never accomplished anything. So, I created a menu that addressed my two most essential concerns:
1. If my family were without power for 72 hours, will I have a menu to prepare without heat or electricity?
2. Will my toddler eat those meals?

After one trip to Wal-Mart -Voila!

So our family will be getting at least 1,800 calories a day (that’s without snacks or water)
Although I doubt Caleb will eat the tuna, I’d be happy to swap him my Nurtigrain for his portion.
All the canned food is pull-top no need for a can opener here. The tuna pouches are nice because there's no need to drain. I also found individually-packaged "vitamin enchanced" drink mixes to include in our lunches. I figured Caleb would get tired of plain water.
Is this menu perfect? No. Is it better than nothing? Heck yes.
The best part about this kit is that it has a shelf life of three years, so if we don’t use it by then we plan on going camping. Yahoo!

My advice on organizing 72 hours worth of food:
Gather. Gather. Gather. These meals can easily be assembled over the course of three months, purchasing one set meal per month (Breakfast x #of family members x 3), you don’t have to go out and buy them today. I blame nesting for my sudden urge to create these not providence.
Group. Group. Group. Put entire meals into one quart or gallon sized bags.
Label. Label. Label. Label each bag with AT LEAST the meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) and the contents. Before I tell you why, I want to say I love my husband and in no means am I trying to debase the menfolk… BUT, if you get separated from your family, your husband is going to be in charge of divvying-out the meals you have organized and he needs to know what’s what. Plus you’ll be using these kits in an emergency situation, less than ideal conditions, it’s best to be organized.
Watch. Watch. Watch. A movie or an episode or two of Gilmore Girls while you compile these kits.