A bit different today! Two nights ago when we had the gas leak but hadn’t called the emergency number yet (Don’t ask me why!) I didn’t sleep but lay awake worrying and making lists in my head.
The first list was What Will I Save If I Have Only A Few Minutes Before The Place Goes Up and the second, less interesting, What Do I Need If We Are Evacuated While Things Get Sorted. I was thinking, as I lay there, of all the people in Cuba, in New York, in Jamaica, in Palestine, in Goma, everywhere where Sandy or some other destructive force, natural or man-made, has been and thinking that they have faced or are still facing all this for real.
As I lay in bed and ‘walked’ myself around our house, I began to realize that there were only a very few things that I would truly want to save, that were totally irreplaceable.
My first list:
- Mr S. We met about 46 years ago and have been together ever since.
- Photographs – and that means grabbing two small suitcases where all the early photos of our growing-up family are kept and the computer where all the digital photos are stored – memories of family, those still with us and those who have gone and friends, those still with us and those who have gone.
- The Family Bible where so much family history is stored ( have a look here if you missed that post)
- My locket, which has been passed through generations and worn by the Bride in so many family weddings. (Have a look here for that post)
- Two small pieces of clothing – the beautiful christening dress that my Granny was christened in, then my Mum, then me and my little sister… (That post is yet to come) and the little sweatshirt from the Killingbeck Cardio Thoracic Unit in Leeds that reminds us how lucky we are to have our son, D.
and that really is all. I found that to be such a liberating realisation. The stuff that surrounds us really doesn’t matter. There are pieces of furniture that are family heirlooms, there are pieces of art that I love, there are all my music things, there are many, many books but ………
I wonder what your few treasures might be if those were really all you could save?
D’s sweatshirt
Family christening dress
on thehomefrontandbeyond
November 20, 2012 at 11:40 pm
very interesting post – I will have to think about this–though the things that you would save are all good choices
mybeautfulthings
November 21, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Given more time, I might save other things too, as fearlessanalyst has pointed out …. 🙂
WordsFallFromMyEyes
November 20, 2012 at 8:10 pm
Oh dear, what a list kept you awake!!
I see your world has not exploded & gone up in flames, then … 😉
Love who’s first on the list, & the christening dress. What a piece of history. Good luck with it all!
mybeautfulthings
November 21, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Thank you! It was a trepidatious night indeed! Today the gas men have filled in all the holes in the front garden and it’s as if the crisis didn’t happen at all! 🙂
mixedupmeme
November 20, 2012 at 4:55 pm
It is something we really don’t want to think about but we know it can happen. I would probably grab my USB drive where all my computer stuff is stored. My life would be ruined if my computer was destroyed. lol And I do take it with me in my purse when I go out just in case something happens to the house.
Which reminds me…..I haven’t done a backup in over a week.
mybeautfulthings
November 21, 2012 at 1:36 pm
I, too, need to do a back up. I am so bad at it and would be devastated to lose everything on there. NOW is the time! 🙂
thoughtsfromanamericanwoman
November 20, 2012 at 2:46 pm
Lovely Christening gown – how old is it?
mybeautfulthings
November 21, 2012 at 1:40 pm
My Granny was born in September 1888 so possibly it’s 124 years old but I have no photos of her in it so may be wrong and I’m not sure how to check that now. Even if it were made for my Mum, it’s 98 years old which is pretty remarkable! 🙂
thoughtsfromanamericanwoman
November 22, 2012 at 2:54 am
What a family treasure!
childtasticbooks
November 20, 2012 at 9:36 am
This is a lovely post. I think we could all do with doing a similar exercise occasionally to remind ourselves what really is important in life. I am sorry to hear about your gas leak – have you moved out? We have a kitchen leak (just fixed) and a mini-excavation in the kitchen floor!
mybeautfulthings
November 20, 2012 at 9:59 am
Thank you. We are lucky that they were able to fix it on the day, after nearly 6 hours of digging and that it was outside so we haven’t had to move out. The new drive is a mess but that’s a small thing compared with what might have been!
Sorry about your leak – we know about that too, coming home to a flooded dining room after our India holiday! That’s fixed and we are now beginning to renovate!
Hope your kitchen is soon sorted and that your course is going well. I haven’t been visiting blogs recently – so much going on here….
All the best to you and Holly 🙂
Choc Chip Uru
November 20, 2012 at 4:52 am
This list is so true my friend, really puts things into perspective!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
mybeautfulthings
November 20, 2012 at 10:00 am
That’s true! 🙂
Kathleen Richardson
November 20, 2012 at 1:58 am
I do that, too, Sally (along with planning how I’ll spend millions of dollars if I ever win a lottery). I’ve been scanning old photos onto my computer ’cause there is no way I could carry them all, plus I have a hand-size exterior hard-drive and the Apple TimeMachine program for it so that everything on my computer is backed up several times daily for up to a year. Since much of my life is on this iMac, I’ll be grabbing that little hard-drive in case of emergency. Other than that? My glasses (at least one pair!), my pocketbook and my cell phone. Although I suppose I could do without most any of those last items.
mybeautfulthings
November 20, 2012 at 10:03 am
I like that idea of scanning the old photos. We have so many and they are very heavy. We don’t look at them either, packed as they are into the cases.
I have the Time machine thing but haven’t yet used it! I really must.
Glasses! Yes, I forgot those and would be so lost without them!
All the best to you 🙂
Hudson Howl
November 20, 2012 at 1:13 am
I thought about what my list would include, an to be truthful there really isn’t anything after life and over course Elvira. I have been through a event where others lost their life. Now I just have a hard time putting my head around what I would save.
mybeautfulthings
November 20, 2012 at 10:08 am
You are right – life and the ones you love. I’m sorry you’ve had that experience, that must be hard indeed.
All the best to you and thank you for your always thoughtful comments 🙂