Saving What Can’t Be Replaced

We live a couple of miles from one of the Santa Rosa neighborhoods that was devastated by the Wildfires.  Though it was touch and go for many hours, in the end we didn’t get evacuated and our home is fine. This was not the case for so many others.

I wanted to share a story about a client I worked with a couple of months ago. Her husband was going to New York for a three month work project.  Getting their garage organized was a huge task they wanted accomplished before he left.  Along with typical garage items, their son had moved back home several months before and there was his stuff to go through as well as family photos and memorabilia to get sorted and in boxes. This ‘’family history’’ was really important to all of them, but especially to their adopted son who is now twenty something; his family is everything to him. It took two days, but mission accomplished!

Fast forward several weeks, my client was enjoying a wonderful long weekend in New York with her husband when they got a call from their son telling them about the wildfires and though he wasn’t being evacuated yet, it was feeling like he most certainly would at some point. He was going to pack the truck and what specifically did they want him to take from the house?  Her reply “More than anything just make sure you get out safe’’. But since he had time to load things, she said she was relieved to know EXACTLY where the boxes of family photos and memorabilia were in the garage and told him to grab those, everything else could be replaced. 

Eventually he did have to evacuate for a few days, but their home remained in tact.  My client arrived home from NY and discovered her son had taken framed family photos off the hallway wall, noticing he took only the photos where he was with other family members and left  the photos that were just of him.  She said her heart melted, knowing how much these documented moments with his family meant to him.

What would you take if you only had 15 minutes or less to pack?  Beside important documents, most people say photos and family memorabilia.  So, please take some time and get the important things organized so you know where they are and can grab and go, you will be happy you did.

These past several months throughout the country many are left with nothing except the daunting task of how to rebuild their lives from nothing.  What I know is the human spirit is strong and yet there are times when it may feel it’s all just too much to bear. That is why we must hold the light for those who feel theirs has dimmed. Be kind and keep in mind, you don’t know what someone has just been through.  I’ve watched as our community has reached out with overwhelming kindness, love and support to those in need.  It’s a long road ahead, so we must be diligent in making sure we keep this spirit of giving alive.