(****warning the following content may be too sentimental for some audiences****)
I don't remember the circumstances or why I was there but when we lived in Chicago there was a close family friend that we used to visit often. I just remember liking her house because all the rooms were like a circle that we could easily run around and play tag. We also got in trouble for "borrowing" a Polaroid camera and taking (get your mind out of the gutter...I was seven) pictures of the ceiling and trying miserably to hide the evidence. But, I digress. We were sitting in her living room one day and she asked us to play a little mind game. She told us to close our eyes and imagine that everything in the house was suddenly gone. Now piece by piece put it back, but the only things that come back are the ones that you remember. I'll never forget that exercise for its simplicity in forcing you evaluate what is really important in your life.
The past few days have been a slow sludge and sticky crawl towards packing up my existence into neat piles to later be boxed or stuffed into a suitcase. It has forced me to realize that we live overly complicated lives. My grandma lived through the depression and she would always tell me that she had one dress that she wore to school and one dress that she wore to church. Now, granted I know that times are vastly different but it puts into perspective the complicatedness of our lives. It's really no different than when we go to the grocery store and have to choose between fifteen million brands of peanut butter.
Again, I digress.
I haven't become too emotional about the move yet. There was one time in my old office with my coworkers and I read a card with all their sweet and funny notes. Tonight, I almost got choked up seeing my little cat yawning in front of all my clothes and belongings. It finally hit me that I'll soon be packing up and saying goodbye to the little bugger.
If you had to pack up your life into a box, what would you choose? If your house was on fire and you could take five things with you, not counting pets and loved ones, what would you hold most valuable?
Just a nugget of thought for the day.
(That's about 90% of the things I'm taking with...I can't decide if that's a lot or pretty reasonable)
That is such a good question. If we're not including things we "need" and assuming these things could not be replaced, then I would probably pack/grab a favorite book, my ipod (assuming all accessories are with it), my laptop, a family photo, and my pillow. I guess these five things would be a list between things I would pack and things I would grab during a fire. Luckily, I wear some things that mean a lot to me so I wouldn't have to grab them! (rings, bracelets)
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