Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Things I Would Save if There was a Fire ...

I'm sure we've all thought about the "Things-I-Would-Save-if-There-was-a-Fire" scenario, and have a mental list of those precious irreplaceable things we would grab, after we grabbed our loved ones, of course.

I'd like to share with you a few of the things I would try to save, not necessarily in order of significance ...

1. Family Pictures ... I know where they are (two large plastic storage containers in an upstairs closet, one large and very heavy plastic container in the attic, and a couple of albums in a guest bedroom desk drawer) ... but, realistically, there's probably no way I could get to any of them in the event of, Heaven forbid, a fire.

I need to put them all together in a safe, more easily accessible place. I don't know where that would be except in the back of my SUV, maybe.

2. My maternal grandmother's Biscuit Bowl ... One of my favorite "little girl" memories is standing on a chair in my grandmother's kitchen "helping" her make biscuits and kneading the dough in this bowl. It's in my china cabinet in my kitchen and would be easy to rescue. I hope to give it to our three-year-old grandaughter Avery Grace someday.

3. My Piano ... Of course, there's no way I could save my piano, but I would if I could.

4. One of my most precious heirlooms is my maternal Grandfather's Scarf, which was used on top of his dresser. I use it as a runner on my dining room table in the fall and winter, so it would be easy to rescue in an emergency ...

5. This delicate little Vase in a Brass Stand is another cherished heirloom. It belonged to my paternal grandmother, and I keep it in my china cabinet in the dining room ...

6. My maternal grandmother's little Blue Mixing Bowl is another bowl I'd like to save ...

7. My Camera ... I love my new Canon EOS Rebel xsi digital camera and I'm sure I would grab it (AND my computer) on my way out, if there was a fire.

8. And last, but certainly not least, is my beloved first doll, Nancy.

Santa Claus brought Nancy to me when I was five years old and from that Christmas Day forward, she was my constant companion, "best friend," and confidante.

She still has the battle scars from a little girl's love, including three chewed fingertips, nailpolish "lipstick," and brown painted hair under her wig (you can see the little curl at the top of her forehead in the first picture).

I love her dearly and she would be one of the first things I would save. I will give Nancy to Avery Grace on her fifth birthday and hope she will love her as much as I do. Goodness, that makes me teary-eyed to think about.

After writing all this, I realize now that I'd have to have a small moving van (and a couple of moving guys) to "save" all my treasures. I just hope we never have to find out what we'd really save if there was a fire.

10 comments:

Southerner said...

I am assuming your attic is cooled? If not get the photos out of there because the heat will ruin them. I would like to take and scan all my old family photos and save them to shutterfly or another online offsite place so that in case of fire I could reprint photos. I also plan to copy everything to a disc so that I could grab the discs easily or give them to my MIL to keep. I thought that I would suggest this for others.

Unknown said...

Hi Janie,
This is a great idea for a post!
You have a beautiful piano....but I don't think you would be able to get it out!

I'm like you...the pictures would be first after I was sure everyone was safe! I have been wondering about your camera...your pictures are always awesome!

Love the story about the doll and Avery Grace!

Bo said...

What a good "food for thought" post this is today...I think I'll have to make some of those decisions now... ;-) Bo

Jerri Lynn @ Southern Sassyness said...

What a wonderful post! Love all the pictures...you have some absolute treasures! This has really made me think about all the things around my house that I would try to save. I have actually quite a few...and my piano would be on my list, too!

Judy said...

Love all your pretties that you would save, but let's hope that never becomes necessary! I have a couple of things that I'm going to pass along to my two granddaughters...one is my first rocking chair and doll bed I got when I was 18 months old...let's just say they qualify as antiques now! My mom made my daughter a porcelain doll and beautiful dress when Shannon was about 5 (she's almost 32 now). Shannon called her "careful baby" because we told her she had to be careful around the doll...that doll and doll bed will go to Taylor.

It's so nice to have family treasures to enjoy and pass down.

Hugs!
Judy

Anonymous said...

Hi Janie! My gosh you nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw the house on fire!!! Isn't it amazing how we would rescue things that are mostly "emotional" value rather than "monetary"! Brought a tear to my eye too when you said you were passing this adorable "Nancy" on to Avery! I do hope she cherishes it. I can see her taking it everywhere with her too. Sure does beat those "bratz" dolls out there!lol Glad you are up and running again! Sincerely, Jeannette

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I hope we never have to find out huh ??? Nice to know that others think like me though...I often think of the things I would save. I am like you I have SO many things I'd want to rescue.

I gather things went well with your new computer ???

Nice post,
Kathy :)

nikkicrumpet said...

I've thought of this same thing often....my list is so long that I'd never get it all out. Sadly there are just some things that could never be replaced. Hopefully none of us will ever have to face those decisions!

StitchinByTheLake said...

I wonder if age causes us to think about this - I've thought about it several times and have even told my husband where all the pictures are just in case I'm not here and a fire breaks out! I have a couple of bowls of my grandmother's too, and a pencil sketch done of my father during WWII, and a butter dish that my mother's best friend gave me that was her mother's, and all my quilts and wall hangings, and the washstand that was my grandmother's.... Memories...that's what we want to save. blessings, marlene

bj said...

I have 2 8x10 photos, hanging in my bedroom, of my son and daughter when they were in high school. They would be the one item I would grab as I ran from the fire..