by minasodaboy (CC)

This morning I spent some time watching the Today show to see coverage of the ongoing disaster in Japan.  My heart goes out to those people in the affected areas.  On the TV they were talking to an American teacher there who had escaped the complete devastation of the village she was staying in, along with many others, because the town had early warning Tsunami sirens. The journalists then proceeded to talk to experts who explained that depending on the location of the quake, sometimes there is only 10 minutes or less between the warning and the wave.

This got me to thinking. Assuming my hubby would pick up himself and his own stuff so he’s not a worry, if I had only 5 minutes to pick up and head for the hills, what would I bring?

1. My dog, of course. Her leash is by the door, as is an extra collar in case she’s walking around the house “nekked”.
2. My iPod, which is generally in my purse or in my car. At least if my home and computer and hard copy CDs were destroyed, I’d still have the electronic versions of the 5000+ songs that are on it. This may sound odd to some, but I’m a music fanatic.  If I’m not listening to it, the music playing in my head can be overwhelming.
3. My wallet, so I’d have some ID and a source of money if banks were working.
4. My phone, so people can contact me if lines are open.
5. Some clean undies. Because my Ma always told me to have clean undies.
6. A hand spindle and some fiber. This is usually in or near my purse, so no big stretch here. Could give me something to do while I wait for rescue 🙂

My daily checklist when I go to leave my house is “wallet, phone, keys, iPod”. So I’m only adding three items to my regular daily list of what I carry. The dog wags her tail very loudly (WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! Against every solid surface in the area) every time I approach the door to leave so not much chance of forgetting her. The spinning and the undies I could forget, though I’d probably kick myself a bit.

Everything else in the house? I would miss some of it, but I could live without even sentimental items knowing we were safe and alive. Considering I have a house bursting with stuff, realizing I could leave it all behind is saying volumes towards the need to simplify and minimalize.

What would you bring?