Our General Store…One More Week!!!

February 02, 2010 Comment

I has been a long weekend for me. It all began on Friday when I called my niece in Baltimore to check on her as the storm was underway there. She had been to the grocery store on Thursday morning to stock up on fresh produce and milk and was set to go. She related the following to me at that time. As she was leaving her home to head for the store a client of her’s called to ask a question and when he discovered she was headed to the store he told he he was going to have his twin girls for the weekend and since he had just moved he had no food in the house. She volunteered and after asking about food allergies and preferences headed to the store to stock up for both of them. That night he picked up the groceries and she asked if he was prepared if the electricity went out. He was not so she sent him on his way with some mylar blankets, candles, crayons and paper, a game, and a few other essentials.

Friday morning she sent an email to all her clients telling them that her aunt(that’s me) had written about surviving during a winter power outage and if they wanted a copy she would forward one. All but two asked to have the information. Later in the afternoon she needed food coloring for a project she was working on. She warned her daughter that if the lines were long they were going to forget it. There were no lines and of course there was plenty of food coloring on the shelves. As they stood in line the woman in front of them told them she had come in for milk and bread. The only milk was a gallon and there was nothing that resembled bread in any way, nothing. The store shelves were virtually empty.

Fast forward to Saturday when we spoke again. By now they had over 20 inches of snow and everyone had been told to stay home. She awoke to snow half way up her bedroom window which is about four feet off the ground. She called the friend whose groceries she had purchased and sure enough, he was without power. He knew to make a fort under the table, by throwing blankets over the table, to contain body heat, for a comfortable camp-out adventure with his girls. He was ready because she had shared what she knew. She may never know how many she helped by passing along the knowledge she had.

Saturday I also receive an email forwarded to me that went out to everyone living in the La Canada Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was a desperation call to everyone to come and help with the landslides in the area. I received pictures later in the day of dozens of people helping to dig out and to help people prepare for the next rains due tomorrow. For those unfamiliar with this area it is just below the area that was devastated by wild fire last summer. The homes are either decades old classic homes with a few newer large homes thrown in. This is a more wealthy area but all the money in the world cannot prevent a natural disaster. There is a real and immediate need in the area for people to open their homes and to take in their friends and neighbors.

Why do I tell you this? Because both of these scenarios are exactly why we have a General Store in our home. My niece was able to provide candles, mylar emergency blankets, paper, crayons, and more, from her store. Those in neighboring cities are able to provide shelter to families from La Canada. We never know when it will be our time and we will need those items in our General Store. We never know when the information we share will be important to those around us.

We only have one more week of stocking food in our General Store! It is hard to believe and all of you who have been following and stocking the last year should give yourselves a big pat on the back. This week we are adding five pounds of protein per person to our store shelves. As a reminder, protein includes, meat, fish, beans, nuts and nut butters. You choose.

Beginning on February 22nd we will be stocking the toiletries section of our store. In preparation take a permanent marker and put today’s date on all the bottles and tubes of toiletries you have in your home. Mark the shampoo, deodorant, shaving cream, lotions, etc. We will use this to determine what a three month supply is for your family. As you replace a roll of TP take the wrapper and place it in a drawer. WE will use these to determine how much of that you need to store, but for now just save the wrappers.

If you have stories from the past year either about your General Store stocking experience or using your store please share them.