Assessing Prized Possessions…in an Instant

Posted by chriskuhn on Jul 1, 2012 in Blog, Inspiration Corner, Kuhnspirations | 0 comments

So this week I made you go THERE.

All of these scary storms and hurricane-like weather and after-effects pounding the Gulf coast stirred a lot of us. And it made me contemplate: what would I take if I had to scoot in a hurry, so that was the question I posed to you.

If you had to rush from your home for whatever reason, and with no certainty that you’d ever return, what belongings would you take with you and why?

Did you think about this question and what you would do? I did and I think I’ve got my list ready (my husband will have to come up with his own because I’m being selfish on this blog and thinking only of myself). Obviously, I’ll toss a few pants and shirts into a bag and grab the dog and his food and meds. I did say that you can’t just say photos, but…as long as you specify which, I’ll give you a pass, because you just might read this in my own take. So…

• I’ve got most of my major photo albums from the past 18 years with Larry in precisely two parts of the house, so I’m pulling my work file tub, dumping out the client files (sorry, folks) and filling them up with photo albums. If there’s room on the top, I’ll snag some favorite collages from the walls, too and plop them on top.
• My laptop, power cord and such. And folio of past laptop backup CDs – just in case. (There…see! I’m not so irresponsible about business after all. Just bidding farewell to the beloved paper trail I’ve come to know and love so much. Sniffle sniffle.)
• The lockbox. It’s got important papers in it, including some personal items like a groovy coin collection from my grandfather. It’s not that valuable monetarily, but personally, it means a ton.
• IF I had the muscle and the space in the car… I would disconnect quickly my two 400-CD changers and pack them in the car (sans jewel cases). We’ve got so much love, money and time invested in our music collection, I’d feel a personal and emotional loss if we lost our music.
• Our combined vinyl collection. Damn, we won’t have much to eat and wear but wherever we land, the music is going to be hopping. Guess we’d better throw the turntable and speakers in the car, too. And the receiver for those CD players.
• My old audio cassette collection, and I don’t mean my complete Monkees or Monty Python collections, even though I’ll miss them dearly. I mean home-made audio tapes that I made as a kid – some with my dad, others with good friends like Seana and Tammy, singing and joking, and yet others from my many solo escapades of trying out some creative stuff when I was sure that I would eventually become a Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time cast member. These mean the world to me. So I guess I’d better toss the old tape recorder in the car, too. In fact, come to think of it…
• Let’s toss in the MP3 recorder while I’m at it and some spare batteries. There could be some really good materials to capture and audio bites for future columns, blogs or even books from this disaster escape. Must be prepared for anything at all times, right? Speaking of which…
• Digital camera and flipcam. Better bring those, too. For reason above.
• Larry’s home movie collection. This is invaluable. There’s nothing sweeter than reliving some past vacations, watching the kids grow up before our eyes and meeting new important characters in our world like our grandson and newly married friends and family. These adventures can never be replaced.

What about you? If there’s a chance you could never see your stuff again, what do you take? Let me know what’s stuffed in your car. Mine has apparently become a Best Buy store.

Seriously, this can be a good exercise for you. After all, it’s only when we stop to think about what’s most important in our lives that we begin to appreciate the place they hold in our hearts.

Cheers to finding that daily spark in your life!

Chris