So I have been trying to decide what self sufficiency really means for our family. I haven't been able to put a finger on what I am really trying to get out of this until today. I think that's because pieces of the puzzle have been missing until now. Interesting really, since this is Autism awareness month, and I have children who are on the spectrum.
Back to SS for a moment. While I have been contemplating what I want to get out of self sufficiency, I have thought: Do I want to have more say in what my family eats? Do I want to broaden my survival skill repertoire? Do I want to hone my emergency preparedness? Do I want to make more things for my family as gifts rather than buy them? Do I want to find cleaner ways of eating, and living? Do I want to support local farmers and small businesses? Do I want to save money when and where I can? Do I want our family to eat organically?
The answer to all of these questions is yes. I want these things and so much more. What I have discovered is that I want to be able to simply
do it myself. I want to cook my own food from scratch, being able to have a say in the foods that my family consumes. I want to know how to live "off the land and our wits" should the situation ever require it. I want to be more than ready for natural disasters, including tornadoes, and now earthquakes apparently
so that we can thrive and help others in those situations. I want my kids to feel loved when they look back and realize that mom took the time to make something for them by hand with the precious and scarce time that she had.
I want our family to know what is in our food, and know where it comes from, and how to prepare it, without having to rely on a jar or a box. I want to support small local farmers, who work hard, and love in the truest sense of the word, what they do. I want to support businesses that don't have the "luxury" of having their products sold at a major retailer. And as a frugal mom of 5, I want to save money. As much as I can whenever I can without sacrificing the quality I have come to love. I want to be free from chemicals, pesticides, and genetically modified foods because I have seen the difference eating without them have made in not only my husband and I, but our children who are on the autism spectrum. And the difference is has been jaw dropping.
So really, what this all boils down to, is awakening and independence. Independence from the way I was taught that the world works, and how we should eat, and what we should buy....and an awakening to something better. Something so much better, that I can barely believe it.
I am re-energized in my resolve to complete this journey. The sacrifice has been and I know will continue to be worth it.
April is Autism Awareness month. Please take a few minutes to introduce yourself to this growing epidemic if you are unfamiliar with it. We must find the cause(s). And for me, the next time you are in a store, or other public place of business and you hear a child screaming, and are inclined to label the parent a bad parent, or the child a brat, please remember that some of those "brats" you hear screaming have Autism. They have systems that are completely overstimulated, and have no way to process their environment in a way that is acceptable to Joe Public. Offer the parents kindness and compassion. They need that in monsoon amounts, and have experienced more than enough judgment and ignorance. We are broken and sad, and wish to God our kids would stop screaming. Even more than you do.
Much Love,
Cetta
Thanks for reading. Comments welcome
I try to avoid HFCS also, but my husband wanted me to try it and it was yummy! 
