What would you take

Assuming your family and pets were all safe: if you were able to take one thing before your home was destroyed, what would you take?

That question was discussed in a tv show we watch. My mind has wondered back to it with the ongoing floods in Alberta. Now, I'd be really sad if we lost everything. The memories, and stuff that you build up throughout your life. But what would I take if I had the chance?

One of the most precious things that we have are our pictures and videos. If I had some time to pack a car with as much as I could, I'd load up the laptops and external hard drives (among other things) because for size / weight to personal value ratio is really high. But for the most part, those are all backed up off site. I could get it back if I really had to. I hope.

What else would I take? The Christmas tree decorations? Those are precious but I don't think that I'd be loading up the car with those.

I love the things we have, but I've been thinking about this for a while and looking around the house and there's not really anything that I'd be truly heartbroken if we lost (other than the photos and videos). It's just stuff.

This feels like a breakthrough for me. In the past I've always tied a lot of emotional value to things. The memories I associated with them gave them value. Giving away stuff we're not using has helped with this. Living in a smaller place where you only have so many options has helped too. But what I think has helped me the most are Laura and Alice. The love I feel for them makes it difficult to care for physical things. It's like trying to see a candle when you're on the surface of the sun: you don't need a candle anymore, you've got more important things to think about. Namely, "oh my god I'm on fire by being so close to the sun! Why didn't I come at night?!?!?"

Stuff is stuff. People are what's important and in the end, what matters.