It would be very difficult to choose only three items. We have several family albums, so in order to
bring one we would need to go through our pictures and choose the ones that
best represent our life together. Going
through pictures would probably create laughter and tears. It would be difficult to choose. The second item that we would bring is a
bible. My personal bible is very
precious to me. It is only 4 years
old. I got it when I decided to read it
for myself and my family and I have spent time telling the stories and applying
them to our lives. We consider it as a
treasure map containing hidden gyms. We
consider it to be more than a story but something that is alive and part of our
current story. The third item is well…our
dogs- O.K. that stands for two and I don’t know if they are an “item” but we
really don’t have any other materialistic things that we value. Nothing passed down from grandparents, no
artifacts. Our dogs are our family. Our love for them is something we all
share. We have been comforted by them
and we have been brought to laughter by them.
We fight over who loves them more and who they love more.
If I were to explain to others what these items mean I would
say that they represent all of the memories that we have together and that they
are things that hold us and bond us together.
Taking them with us would help us to get through difficult times. If I was told to choose only one item I would
be devastated. My heart would break because
of all of the things in life they are the most valuable.
I realized through this exercise that my family culture
really values time spent together above anything else. Material things are just not a value to
us. I also feel in some ways that our
family has had to sort of create its own culture within the culture. I feel that we have been very fortunate to be
able to have a roof over our head and food on the table. Because my children are grown, at times I
wish I could turn the clock back. If I
could pass any cultural traditions down it would be the value and gift of time.
I love your blog Lori! You have shared great insights into your family's personal life. I too wanted to take my dog- but he is not at all a small item and I feared that depending on the country I ended up in they may think he was a delicacy...:) Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree. The dogs would have to come along as well. :)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. It is devastating to think of choosing just one thing to represent yourself and your family. But the time spent with family and knowing that they survived such a catastrophic event would be memorable and awarding enough, the time spent is priceless. Thanks for sharing.