Tonight my Dad gathered all of the family in our living room for an activity. He told us to pretend that the Nuclear Power Plant we live a couple miles away from had a meltdown. He told us that we had 5 minutes to grab our stuff and meet at the van so we could evacuate our home. He told us that he was going to let us know how much time was passing as we were packing and he dismissed us.
Here's what I grabbed:
-Moxie, I got her to the garage
-My journal
-My Book of Mormon that I have tons of writing in
-A photo album
-My Joseph Smith Devotional Book
-Clothes/Underware
-Tennis Shoes and Flip Flops
-Hoodie
-Glasses and contact/solutions
-My Medicene
-Blanket
-My stuffed animal dog I have had forever
-Laptop/Charger
-Purse with my money, id, debit card, cell phone
-Jackets
-Granola Bars, Crasins, Peanut Butter, Bread
This practice my Dad had us do was so eyeopening and scary and emotional. When the 5 minutes were up and we were all in the garage we sat down and shared what each of us packed. Everyone thought of different things to grab. For example, Maddie grabbed her favorite pair of High Heels. But she also thought to grab a brush, chapstick, lotion, deodorant, and the family camera that has 1800 pictures on it. Kate grabbed her ipod, her knives, and the family laptop. We also talked about our thoughts and how it made us feel to act like we needed to quickly evacuate. And you know, even though I knew that it wasn't real my heart was pounding and I felt panicked. I spent too much time freaking out and trying to decide what really mattered to me. Through our discussion we decided what we need to do to be better prepared for an emergency like this. We didn't do poorly but we were able to come up with some ideas that will help us move faster and easier in a real situation. Heaven forbid.
Anyway, this exercise was great. It really got us to think about what matters to us and what we couldn't bear to leave behind.
So, what would you grab?
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