What One Thing Would You Take?

My fourteen-year-old son is famous for asking very introspective questions in the middle of chaos. 'Mom,' he inquired the other afternoon as I was weaving in and out of traffic during rush hour. 'If our house was on fire and you could take only one thing that doesn't include people or animals, what would you take?' 

I glanced at him in the rearview mirror.  'Well, I guess I'd have to think about that,' I answered.

'I would take Doggie, my stuffed animal that great-grandma gave me when I was four,' he volunteered, 'Because I could never replace him.'

'That's very true,' I replied, but I was really stumped by his question. I had so many important things, didn't I?

Later that night, I sat in bed thinking about what I would take if I could only choose one thing. I took out a pen and pad of paper and started making a list. I wrote #1: My special bra. I know it sounds crazy, but my special bra is the kind of bra that I searched for from the time I was thirteen until I was forty, and then one miraculous afternoon in the mall dressing room, I tried the special bra on and realized the sisters had never looked so spectacular. I sighed. Choosing a bra as my most important item seemed silly. There was so much more to list. #2: What about my wedding album or the video taken in the Des Moines airport when I held my daughter for the first time as she came off a twenty-three-hour flight from Seoul, South Korea?  #3: Could I leave behind the 250 poems I wrote in my early twenties? #4:  Of course, I'd have to grab the three giant containers full of photographs from my childhood up to today.  #5: I surely couldn't leave without my Grandma's china or the teapot my mother gave me when I left home for my own apartment. I put my pen down. Deciding what was most important to me in my life was no easy task. I asked myself again: What did I have that I absolutely couldn't live without?

Then I remembered the box that was wedged between my sweatshirts and old purses on a closet shelf. I stood on a chair and pulled it down. I carefully opened the lid and smiled. The contents of this very special box detailed my life story in so many ways. When I was very young, I started what I liked to call 'my life box' and its contents had grown significantly over the years. I dug down to the bottom and found a homemade Valentine my mother made for me when I was a little girl; my high school memory book detailing everything from prom dates to my future dreams; a card from my Grandma that accompanied three yellow roses sent to me in a vase at work one day that said, 'Hang in there kiddo!'; a love note from my husband when he was still my boyfriend; and a birthday card addressed to me by my son when he was just five with the unforgettable words written inside in crayon, 'I love you from here to the moon and back a million times.' As I carefully examined each item and remembered the special moments that each keepsake evoked, I realized that these were all the things that throughout my life I had deemed important enough to save.

That evening, I determined that the things that had really been important to me were not materialistic in nature, but instead, were the unforgettable memories, compassionate moments, or loving gestures created by those who loved me. It was the just kind of awakening I needed.

Now you know my story ... I'd like to know yours.  What one item would you take with you in an emergency? 

- Vicky De Coster - www.wackywomanhood
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Comments

[Teri Breier]

Great post, Vicky! And hopefully you would already be wearing your special bra, too. ;) It is ironic that you blogged about this topic the same day we are dealing with the big fire in Santa Barbara. Reports are coming in now that many of these people didn't even get a chance to get anything material from their homes...the fire came on so hard, so fast. Some folks were on their way home from work to find their street blocked off. I just can't imagine...

I commented on my fire post with the Red Cross number for donations if anyone wants to help out.

[valerie baxter]

Wow, that's a tough question, but I think my keys so I could get the heck into my car and away from the burning building! As I'm getting older I'm realizing that material things really aren't all that important. It's nice to have things, but stuff can always be replaced whereas memories stay with you forever.