Recently The Survival Mom wrote a post about why normal people shy away from prepping. For example, the acronym that titles this post was part of reason number 1: Our terminology has negative connotations.

TEOTWAWKI: The End of the World as We Know it

And yes, it does sound scary. But the end of the world as we know it doesn’t necessarily mean the destruction of our planet and the end of all life. It could mean just about anything that causes a significant shift in your everyday life: a job change, moving to a new city or a new school, a breakup…

Last August a neighbor, friend, and prominent member of the community where I live was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer with metastatic bone cancer. When she died nine months later it felt like everything changed. It was the little things like walking by the mailboxes and thinking, “I haven’t seen Ann for a while.” And then remembering why. But it was also the bigger things, like the loss of her strong voice of reason in meetings. And even though new people moved in to the empty house, this place has never be the same.

Prepping is about noticing what things we might need, what things we might miss, what things we are accustomed to, what things are important, and making reasonable provisions to compensate. By imagining before someone is gone who will take up their tasks, who will do their jobs, who will fill their rooms, what will fill the void. Know where the money is before your accountant retires. Know who you can go to the movies with before you movie buddy moves to another state. Know who you can call at midnight when the pipes freeze and burst, when the dog breaks out of the yard, or when that breakup you didn’t realize you’d been fearing blindsides you.

Preppers get a lot of negative hype, but we’re not all doomsayers. Some of us are just trying to make life a little easier in a crisis by considering what we might need before we need it. And it never hurts to have an extra pint of Boulder Organic Famous Sweet Cream Ice Cream, just in case.

Feature Friday: PopUp Forest Times Square

Today, instead of the usual featured film, we invite you to do more than just watch–we invite you to act, thanks to an innovative, thought provoking, and potentially impactful Kickstarter program. PopUp Forest Times Square presents a temporary nature exhibit designed to draw attention to NYC green space, hoping to inspire  conservation efforts. Bonus points for one of the best taglines ever.

“If a forest can make it in Times Square, it can make it anywhere.”

Because if their proposed forest can make it in NYC, maybe it will inspire other acts of urban greening everywhere.