How Self-Sufficient are You?

I think I am very self sufficient. I was once nicknamed "Jill of all trades" LOL. If something breaks and my hubby is around he will kinda take over and fix it himself but id he isn't around I do it all. He won't even let me hang a picture! Then he complains that he doesn't have enough time to do everything. Well Duh! If he is gone for a bit and I do something he will say that I should have waited till he got back. We have had several discussions on how I am not helpless and can do some things myself but he just won't hear of it. I have learned most of it myself though not from my mom. I want to take a mechanics course so I can understand more of the vehicles that we use.

Gee, doing all that repair works is such a big deal to me...I am not strong enoung to handle a hammer. I cant even lift a chair myself...as compared to you...you are such a very strong woman indeed! You are so admirable and I believe that you can make the difference. Having to know all that is such a huge achievement and I must say it is really one of a kind...very very rare for a woman.

I am physically disabled so I do have to ask for help maybe more often than most people do, but when I was assessed by the community physiotherapist she was absolutely horrified by the way I got into an out of the bath and was surprised I hadn't managed to drown myself. I also had the sink half off the wall through using it to help myself stand! My partner and I are forever coming up with new aids to help me to do things myself. I recently scalded myself making a cup of tea, the spout hit the cup and the contents tipped straight onto me, so now we have a block of wood in place so that a cup can not tip in this way. I have not stopped making the tea! I do all my own cooking from scratch and I can still knit really well. My sewing is rubbish as i can not grip the needle and I do not risk ironing, I have dropped the iron too many times. for all that though, I have read all the survival guides and have included a link to an extreme survival guide which deals with the ultimate test, when you are literally in the middle of nowhere, but there are some very good tips which would stand you in good stead in any emergency. http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/wilderness/survival/index.html We all have different strengths and weaknesses but I do think it is our responsibility to do as much for ourselves as we can. I have built a "survival kit" of bottled water, first aid kit etc which we keep at home to be prepared for most events. If you are reading this and thinking it is much more fun to get everyone running around after you, just consider this. If there is a genuine and terrible disaster every person who is able to do something for someone else is helping to save a life. Every person who could help but lies there is doing their bit to prolong the suffering of someone else. Hmmm getting serious there, better shut up.

I don't mess around with electricity as we are on 220 volts here, but otherwise I am fairly self sufficient. My mother is quite like what you describe, and we sued to say the only thing men were good for was to move around heavy furniture. She never gave any indication that there was anything we couldn't do because we were girls, in fact quite the opposite, she was clear that the sky was the limit for us. I think it is sometimes hard for my husband because I don't like to be led or told what to do, which isn't necissarily a traditional female role as far as he is concerned!

Sounds like your mom taught you a good, life long lesson. Now, I dig into just about everything if I can. We also, didn't have an easy time growing up, and you had to learn to "make do" with what you had. And if that meant either fixing what was broke or going without, then well, I tended to try and fix what was broken. Now I have a job in which I do just that, fix broken things. Those early lessons in life DO pay off when we get older, I guess, huh? Hahha

I think I am a self sufficient man.

I am as self sufficient as I can expect myself to be right now. I have areas I need to work on of course. There are things I would like to learn so I can be more self sufficient like sewing for example.

I think that your mom is a wonderful woman and she did an astonishing job. I am still amazed. Best Regards Esther

Well I guess I would say very in some ways - and not at all in others! I was bought up to believe that women were equal to men, and certainly I am totally self-sufficient when it comes to intellectual pursuits, and also doing things such as holding down a professional, full-time job, handling finances, travelling the world alone, spealing various languages, dealing with any problems that arise with my pets etc. I would never expect a man or anyone else to "keep" me financialy or otherwise - my partner and I are totally equal partners in our relationship. However - if you're talking about practical stuff like fixing appliances or even sewing and knitting etc - I admit I am totally, 100% useless - LOL! I guess if I am honest, I was a bit of a spolit little rich girl as a kid - went to a posh English private school, where we were taught to speak Latin but not to cook or clean - and I'm still a bit like that now. If something goes wrong I csll a repair man or throw it out! I certainly wouldn't have a clue what to do with my car - if I break down I'll just ring the AA and call an engineer out- that's what I pay my monthly subscriptions for!!

I am also not neccesoy self sufficient.Beacause I am always staying alone,no relative to me .But some times we need some body else.

It's a very good thing your mother did to you. Myself, I was raised without having contact to the practical side of life. When I married, I was not quite sure how to boil water for tea. Eventually I learned to not depend on having things done by others but put a hand on them. Now, although I have some knowledge about How Do Thinkg Work, I prefer to call a specialist, but mostly for lack of time to do-it-myself. There is just one area where I'm near to perfection: computers and networking. No software nor hardware problem will beat me, while there still is life in the circuits. And I'm glad for it! :D

I like you, was raised by a strong women, who admire greatly. I will put my hand to anything. I dont always succeed but only seldom fail. I am proud to say I will be in the tool box as often as my husband. What I cant fix he normally can. I love getting my hands dirty and dealing with trades persons. We are renovating a house at the moment and I will study up and if there is something we cant do we will get in the right people. Loved this post.