A Prepper’s Wife’s Point of View

I’m Sarah, Trace’s wife. We have been together almost three years and married for a year and a half. The year I met and moved in with Trace life completely changed. However, it wasn’t until shortly after we got married (a year after we started dating) that Trace discovered The Survival Podcast and our prepping life began.

Prepping, in our house, began in the “normal” way – with 72-hour kits. Since we live in Western Washington – prime earthquake territory – I’d always thought an emergency kit was a good idea. Although I would never have actually created one, I was quietly supportive when Trace started putting them together. Slowly, however, the “kits” began taking on a life of their own. They went from manageable backpacks to a backpack plus extra bags, totaling close to 60 pounds. At some point the bags went from being called 72-hour kits to Bug Out Bags, and the rest is history…

I didn’t totally “get” it, but I went along with his prepping. I love my husband and it seemed very important to him that we do this. It wasn’t until several friends – and then my mom – asked me, “What do you think of all this?” that I was forced to actually articulate my thinking. Trace does this, all of this, because he loves us and wants to protect us. If he were single he would not be prepping this way. He does this to give us the best chance in a worst case scenario.

There are parts of prepping I enjoy more than others. I like contemplating “what if?” scenarios. “What if” Mount Rainier (which is within 20 miles of our backyard) erupts and we’re trapped because of landslides? How would I get home from work? “What if” a pandemic breaks out? How do we help the kids when they’ve been at their mom’s for over a week and possibly exposed? “What if” the kids are with us when disaster strikes? They want their mom, Trace wants the kids with him…so we plan for me and Trace, the kids, and Trace’s ex-wife.

The  more tedious logistical aspects, i.e. calculating how much of each item we need, rotating food, etc. are less interesting to me. I help out as needed and appreciate our preps and all their redundancies, but – if it were just me – I wouldn’t be doing all this.

Being the wife of a prepper has had its eyebrow-raising moments, but when I remember that Trace does this because he wants us to be safe and happy no matter what life brings, I can’t help but smile. What girl doesn’t want to help her man be her knight in shining armor?

(Friday (back to Trace with): What I Did This Week To Prep)