September 17, 2007 01:44 PM
Prized Possessions
About 10 years ago, my home alarm went off in the middle of the night. My daughter, six or seven years old at the time, ran into the hallway holding a box of her beloved plastic action figures. She thought the house was on fire, and this box of small plastic toys was what she chose, above all her other belongings, to save. It turned out to be a false alarm, and all was well a few minutes later. But the incident did make me wonder about what is important to different people in their lives.
I shared the story on vacation a few years ago, and my friend asked me what I would save if I was faced with a real fire or other such catastrophe. "Besides your family and your pets, what would you take if you could only grab one thing," my friend asked. My first instinct was to say my laptop computer, since my many work-in-progress files, e-mails, digital photographs, and other important documents reside on it. But since I backup all my files on a mini-hard drive, I would really just need that. Still, I didn't want to waste my one choice on a mini-hard drive. There just didn't seem to be much romance in that.
I about it a while longer. My mother's quinceanera portrait from Cuba? My parent's wedding rings? My college diploma? Wedding video? Photos of my children? All important items, yet none of them seemed like an obvious choice. I was baffled.
Then I decided, that I wouldn't grab a thing. I'd make sure my children, dh, and pets were out safely, then run like hell to save myself. No regrets, like "why my mother's photo and not my father's ring?" in the future. It was somewhat surprising to realize that nothing, even sentimental items, is that important to me. Then again, it's also somewhat freeing.
