empty backpack

last night we watched up in the air. i'll let you watch it or google it, but he asks who or what would you put in your backpack. the director said the idea came to him when there was a fire in his neighborhood, he was told he had an hour or so to get stuff out of his house before they would need to evacuate the area. he called his wife to discuss what they would take and realize they really had nothing worth stressing over.

so jared and i discussed what we would grab. i have to say, when we lived in FL, esp. in 2004 when 4 hurricanes hit nearby, i appreciated having a few days to be able to board up the windows and prepare for a storm, even being able to pack up your things and get out of the state if need be. but here's what we said...

i said i would grab my wedding dress, all the pictures (in the movie, the guy says that pictures are for people who can't remember...well, i have a limited memory, so i'm taking the pictures!), then i'd walk through the house and grab every sentimental thing i could. then, as i had time and space in the car, i'd grab our china and crystal, things that were given to us that we wouldn't want to have to replace...christmas ornaments, the boxes of momentos from jared and my childhood and high school years. it was at this point that jared stopped me and said "heather, you have an hour and it has to fit in one small car. you don't get to take everything!"

so his list was: the important documents--the house deed, the birth and marriage certificates, the insurance papers and passports (all those things that should be in a safe deposit box in a bank, or at least in a fire-proof safe!) then the laptop, desktop hard drive, iPod, cell phones and cameras. next, as many clothes and shoes as he can grab.

what i learned was this: if we really had an hour to get stuff out of our house, we'd be covered. because i would get the sentimental stuff, he'd get the practical stuff. what would be left in the house would be the inconsequential stuff that would be easily replaced by insurance money, or even just re-buying everything.

i think that makes for pretty good teamwork!