The Golden Spoons: If I Had To Leave In a Rush . . . {#TuesdayTen Linkup}

When I came up with today's Tuesday Ten topic several weeks ago, I had no idea how apropos it would be. You see, Friday is usually my only "free" day, so I try to spend it doing blog stuff - writing, scheduling, etc. Last Friday, however, as I sat in front of my computer, my kids were home from school and the power was flickering due to a massive ice storm that was moving through. It wasn't long until the power was out - for good.

With nothing else to do, we watched outside and, inevitably, saw a tree fall across the road at the end of our driveway. Later, it became very clear that power would not be restored quickly, so my hubby went out to see if he could move the tree enough that we could get out of our driveway. He was shocked by what he saw as he looked up our neighborhood street. There were no less than eight trees down and across the road. We could hear trees cracking and breaking. It was awful.

Maybe you heard about it on the national news?? North Carolina - Guilford County - Greesnboro - that's us. In fact, my kids are home from school today (Monday) because there are still so many schools with no power and/or phone service. There are bus routes that are impassable and still over 40,000 people in the county without power.

The "ice forest" behind our house. It really was beautiful.

Up close: A Japanese Maple outside our Dining Room. Look how much ice is on the limbs.

The view looking down our neighborhood road the day after.

At the end of our neighborhood, we took a right turn and this is what we saw. It honestly looked like a war zone.

The aftermath of the tree that was blocking our driveway.

Our power finally came back on late Saturday night. As inconvenient as 36+ hours without power was, we were some of the lucky ones. As I mentioned, on Monday - four days after the storm - there are still thousands without power. Plus, none of our property, house, or vehicles were damaged by falling limbs.

Probably the luckiest thing for us is that David's parents are our neighbors and they have a whole house generator. Once we cleared the tree from our driveway, we were able to pack up and go to their house for warmth, food, and toilets we could flush!

Although I knew we could come back to our house for anything we forgot and I knew we were not leaving our house forever, it really got me thinking about this post; about the things I can and can't live without. The first half of this list was pretty easy for me, but the last 3 or 4 were tough!

If I had to leave my house in a rush never to return I would grab. . . . . . .

My cell phone - My life line to the "outside world." During the ice storm, our phones were out, too. Our cell phones were our only means of communication.
My Computer - Of course, without electricity, my computer wasn't much help. But, if I was leaving for good, I would want to have it. I would want to have the files that are saved on it and access to the rest of the world via internet. And, of course my blog!
My Purse - I'll save the details for next week's Tuesday Ten (Hint, Hint), and just say that my purse has everything a girl could need for a short time. :-)
Photos - I have a cabinet full of photo albums. There are photos from our wedding, photos of my girls as babies, and photos of relatives who have passed away. I am a nostalgia junky and, although I will always have the memories, I would want the photos.
Baby Books - Does anyone still do baby books?? Well, I did one for each of my girls. I recorded what they ate, how they slept, when they got the first tooth, and when they took their first steps. I would want to have those, not for me, but for them someday.
Jewelry - Now don't get me wrong here. I don't have a lot of jewelry and what I have is not priceless in money terms, but almost all of my jewelry was a gift from my hubby. It is his "go-to" for gift giving and he has given me some special pieces. A couple were gifts he gave me after the births of our girls. Others were anniversary or birthday presents. For sentimental reasons, I would want to take that with me.
Clothes - This seems a bit frivolous, I know, but if I had to leave in a rush, I imagine that it would be under some sort of stressful conditions and a trip to the store to replenish my wardrobe would not be a top priority. I wouldn't grab my whole wardrobe or anything, but I would grab a few outfits and some clean underwear to last me a few days.
Kids' stuff - When we were getting ready to go to my in-law's during the ice storm, I told my girls to go to their rooms and pack a bag with pajamas, toothbrush, a change of clothes, and anything else they couldn't live without for the night as long as it would all fit in one bag. It was interesting to see what they grabbed. My oldest chose her favorite outfit (that was clean) and the other two just grabbed random things they hadn't worn in a very long time. They did make sure to grab stuffed animals and blankies, though!
Toiletries - This may seem a bit trivial, too, but assuming that leaving in such circumstances would be stressful and not knowing how long it might be until we could get to a store or settled somewhere else, a little deodorant and some toothpaste could do wonders to make you feel a little better.
Food - O.K. This is where I go into Mommy mode. I would assume that whatever the circumstances, I would have my three kids with me. So, not knowing how long we might be in a car or if we would be able to grab a burger somewhere, I would probably open the pantry and dump whatever I could into a bag. Granola bars, crackers, juice boxes - anything to keep the whining and hunger to a minimum!

For fun I asked my kids what THREE things they would grab. Here are their answers:

Emily (6) would grab clothes, Lovey (a teddy bear), and Cuddles (a toy monkey). I asked, "What about your blankie?" (She is VERY attached to her blankies.) She replied, "I could go to MawMaw and PawPaw's to get a blankie!" (They keep one at their house for "emergencies.")
Megan (9) said a suitcase full of clothes, Patches (a stuffed dog), and Brownie (a stuffed horse).
Rachel (11) said "Honestly, if the fire alarm went off or something, I would probably be in too much of a panic to grab anything!" She speaks the honest truth because unexpected alarms and emergency situations do cause her great anxiety. She has had bonafide panic attacks because of it in the past.

How about you? If you had to leave your house quickly and knew you could never return, what would you want to take with you??