The Need to Always be Prepared

This obsession I speak of today,I have so many, is the overwhelming obsession to be prepared for any given event, at any given moment of my life.My mother always did this when raising us nine children, but I have never completely raised a child, and I still feel the constant need to be prepared at all times, for any situation that might arise. I worked many years for the school system, and most of the teachers and aides there, knew they could usually depend on me to have at my disposal,most any item,  that any child could possibly need, in the course of a day.Like a spare belt or an eye glass fix-it kit,safety pins,ice packs,needle and thread,buttons,etc.They all knew that I was the most likely person in the building to have the most extensive supply of the most-likely-to-be-needed items, than anyone else.

This obsession goes with me even today, no matter where I go. Not such an extensive supply list, but the mainest things I feel I might possibly need throughout the course of my day or visit.

This particular day was Sunday, the Big Reunion Day. I had taken a large bowl of my fresh cut off corn,24 corn muffins, and about 2 gallon of brown bean soup with ham hocks.(The corn left very quickly).I had bowls and spoons, just in case some one wanted a serving of the beans as soup, plus a serrated ladle,just in case they wanted the beans only.Nevertheless the day was winding down and I was gathering up my Bean Soup to take home,most of it being still in the pot, and I made the comment,"Looks like Pop and I will be eating bean soup and cornbread for awhile."Bean Soup and Cornbread? Is that what that was?"Came a voice from the crowd.Then the line formed at my bean pot. Several had heard us, and wanted to take a cup full home with them for supper. It worked out nicely for all.  I had brought extra cups, plastic wrap, and baggies for the bread.It worked out well for me, too. Pop and I didn't have to eat bean soup for days, and I'm sure the takers enjoyed their evening meal of bean soup and cornbread,at their own homes that night.It seems brown beans and cornbread is a well loved dish,mostly for the older generation,and possibly,a few for the younger ones, but it doesn't get offered at mealtimes that much any more in most homes.It seems,with all of the fast foods families are eating nowadays, beans and cornbread is a treat for many.