Hello readers and friends,
Before we begin this no doubt decisive article/letter, I want to start off by thanking all of you for your support. Thomas and I have been truly lucky to have had your presence and encouragement over the years. I can’t describe in words just how grateful we are to have such a devoted readership.
Over the past (nearly) 3 years, we have discussed the importance of prepping many times on More Than Just Surviving, encouraging one and all to take up the cause out of a desire to protect one’s own personal future as well as the future of your families. Prepping, as we saw it, was a great boon and an excellent way to assure yourself a greater chance of survival.
Well, in the past year, we’ve obviously been keeping quite a close eye on what’s been happening in the news. The world has been living through turbulent times – from the atrocious attacks on democracy in Paris to the more recent tragedy in Brussels. We’ve watched as environmental disasters devastated regions around the world, as government policies that directly impinged our right to live freely have been put into place, and as a result of what we’ve discovered about these events, I actually have to say – converse to what we would’ve said even a few mere months ago – we’ve actually decided to put down our resolve to keep prepping.
Many of you will be shocked. I know. It’s true that it’s not something you would’ve come to expect from us. But we have reason for believing this. After much research, reflection, deliberation, discussion, and hand wringing, Thomas and I have come to the conclusion that prepping has become superfluous to requirement in this present day and age.
Why? Well while the world is not perfectly safe, it is safe enough. Our governments here in North America may not be the most intelligent, but they are comprised of people who are competent enough – people that are indeed capable of taking care of our populations most times. Sure, they may not respond to emergencies as quickly as we might like, but let me ask you this: how many people have actually died from the kinds of situations we prep for? It’s a numbers game, and preppers are fighting to save themselves from already slim odds that emergency circumstances will happen to them.
Let’s be real, the facts as they are – you’re not likely going to end up in a SHTF situation that will threaten your life. When the electricity went out here in Toronto a couple years back, they couldn’t get it back up right away. 5 days and 4 nights went by with no electricity, but not many around us seemed to suffer. Hell, most spent their time dilly dallying in malls, which conveniently keep generators and thus ended up capitalizing even more from the lack of power – I mean where else should you spend time when you’ve got no internet and TV at home?
That could’ve been us. While we were out worrying about what happened if the electricity stayed out for another week or two, we could’ve been going with the flow like everyone else was. Buying a nice gas cook top and using it to make a few warm meals at home. Spending the day charging our phones in the mall outlets and looking for new restaurants to try that had back up generators running. We could’ve been enjoying our lives.
Frankly, while we’re still attached to the prepper lifestyle from a sentimental perspective, we see no pressing need in continuing to focus so much time on preparedness. To do so would be a bit of a waste of time. I mean really – we might as well be spending our time on more entertaining things in life.
We know this will come as a shock to many of you. We have over the past month slowed down our posting as we mulled over our decision. We think the time is now to put down our preps, store-pile, and preparedness mindset and finally just jump the gun and join the real world as integrated, “regular” people in society. FEMA/government organizations will be sure to take care of things when the going gets really tough, but honestly, the small emergency situations – we shouldn’t really be sweating. If the vast majority of people can survive a small disaster without any prepping, so can we, and if there comes a day when there’s a bigger problem, well the government will be there to step in and lend a hand. After all, we won’t be the only ones needing help.
We won’t tell you what to do. This is a personal choice and we just wanted to be upfront with you guys. We will still be around posting knife reviews and other gear reviews in the future, but only from a collectible mindset, not a practical one. After all, knives are still awesome no matter whether you need to use them or not.
I hope you understand where we’re coming from and don’t take this personally. I assure you, it wasn’t an easy decision for us to make, but we firmly believe it is what’s best for us.
Nothing but love – your friends,
Elise & Thomas Xavier
Oh – one last thing by the way…
remember what day it is?
April Fools.
[Update 04/02/16: Why We’re Not Actually Giving Up Prepping (Ever!)]
You had me going, too. Just seeing this now, 6/21, so April fools was furthest thing from my mind. But you know, it does make sense to try to achieve a good balance. I look at my moderate prepping like an insurance policy – you hope you’ll never have to use it.
But I’m enjoying the trip in the meantime – learning more and more about everything from fitness and gardening and seed saving and food storage to wilderness survival and how to handle a gun. I like your site.
Completely agree about prepping being like an insurance policy, Al! Thanks for stopping by!
You forgot to remind us to change our blinker and headlight fluid?
My interest in your blog applies primarily to knives, but sometimes I also read some articles in Prepping, Survival and Gear. Many products have presented her there, are not known in Germany and you can not buy here.
Your friends in Canada and in the United States will regret more the stopping of this part of your blog than I’m doing this as a casual reader .
I hope that Thomas continues the reviews of knives – they are the best on knives compared with other reviews that I know.
In writing this commentary, I suspect, to be taken in by an April Fool? In this case: 1: 0 for you!
After reading your message of April 2, 2016, I am reassured and can turn the page. This year you have really tricked me with this successful “April Fools!”
This had me confused until the very last line.
Elise….As I was reading through your article I was thinking to myself “have they gone mad to think the government will be much help when the “shtf””? Awww, ya got me! I’m chuckling as I’m typing even now..Have to admit it was convincing..I thought well at least they’ll still be doing the knife and other gadget reviews..I really enjoy them..Even though I’ve yet to buy a knife or do any prepping for that matter.
You did such an excellent job on this. I forgot about the date. I was actually thinking, “Maybe she’s got a point … but I’ll still garden and can, ’cause I enjoy it so much”.
Very convincing, you could work for Faux News!
I discovered and subscribed today when I read T’s post on the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 and this was the first post I read after… You got me… :)
PS: coincidentally I am moving from rural Nova Scotia to Toronto on Monday, anything I should be going to or checking out? Bye bye :)
;)
And – yes!! Food, food, food!
Thomas and I are wholehearted foodies and so the restaurants are probably the one thing we’ll miss the very most from here (we’re moving to the U.K. soon – if I could stand the cold weather in Canada I would stick around and probably move to Montreal, but I can’t take it no more! I don’t know how you don’t freeze your butt off in Nova Scotia!!).
Check out Yelp for restaurants near where you’ll be. There’s so much diversity, and a lot of really good stuff for reasonable and even dirt cheap prices. Look for restaurants, or hell even food trucks (which can be even better than restaurants!) that have a looot of reviews and high ratings. There are a slew of gems here in Toronto culinary-wise. Not a city that will disappoint in that respect!
You got me! I was about to ask “Who are you? And what have you done to Elise and Thomas?” before I noticed the last sentence :-)
Nice!! :) You know us so well.
i was ready to tell you you were either nuts or the gov. had gotten to you for some reason.
Yeah – went nuts would certainly be likely.
That was awesome! I was thinking FEMA? The gubment? Are you kidding me?
Most well done : )
Thanks, Chris ;). Thought something was fishy then, huh? Hahah.
Well played!
Thanks, John ;)
Geez. I had just started getting things underway for my family and have fallen in love with your site and community. Always meant to complement you on your wonderful writing style…turns out your skill with words won the day! Good one guys! Thank you for the fun and the serious posts.
Well that’s a huge compliment you just gave us right there! Thank you, thank you, thank you; and glad to have you be a great sport about the fun :). Maybe next year you won’t fall for our tricks!
While I started reading I kept saying to mysef “yeah, but just what if… what if the SHTF did happen and right after resigning to prep”, wouldn’t you be soooo soooo sorry then? But then you got me! And got me good you did!
Yes, I would be so sorry then. Haha. Very sorry indeed! Glad I got you til the end! :)
I believed it because it actually made a lot of sense.
Ps. Knife revieeewwwwwwssssss
I tried really hard to make it convincing! Glad it paid off.
Brilliant! Lmao!! I was having a bodysnatchers moment….. Hahahahaha
Thanks so much! So fun this day of the year ;).
Wow i was not expecting that from some you guys, I was looking for the delete button then decide to finish reading to see what had bumped your head, thanks LOL.
Glad you finished before you hit delete, lol! Hope we didn’t get too many people unsubscribing before they finished reading!
I did read all of this message but I knew you guys were doing a April fools joke ,I mean the world needs you guys right lol so you didn’t get me hah lol I knew what day it was .
Did you know right from the title? I guess you’re the type who’s always on his toes!
YOU GOT ME! The more I read into it, the more sorrowful I became. Then after a short pause and reflection I came back and finished the read. Hope it’s the only April Fools Joke I fall for today, Hope your days are fun and blessed too.
I definitely think you’ll be *prepared* for any other April Fools Day jokes today ;). Haha. Apologies for any heartache we may have caused, though I’m happy you’re so glad to have us still be around :).
So convincingly stated, then I saw the satire. Great job, Elise!
Thanks, Bill! :)
I must admit, i was in a freefall for understanding how such a confusing world finally won out over your attempts to get underneath it in even a practical way.
Well, it is that day isn’t it. The suspension of belief day. So..a Fool’s Pledge
I hereby suspend my belief that the World may have a Self Destructive episode, and refuse to prepare for such an Episode, as I am a Fool and choose to be swept up within it
.
cheers
I love Aprils Fool too, its nice to have a light hearted holiday when we don’t take everything so seriously! Sadly, some people on various social media channels seem to not have any patience for this tomfoolery.
Always gonna be a smidgen paranoid with regards to this mess of a world, no worries Dan.
OK OK OK, I got just past the Brussels thing and said “urgh” April fools! Nice one, you had me for a second or two.
Glad to have had you for a second ;).
LOL! You got me for a minute there! Nice!
Haha, awesome! ;) Love April Fools.