The three small items that I would take with me would be my son's baby book, a Ziploc baggie of obituaries from close family members that have passed away, and photos from when I was a young child and teenager.
I would explain to others that my son's baby book is very sentimental to me. I waited until I was 37 to give birth to him after being told repeatedly that
I may never be a mother. His footprints are in there and many things that will remind me of his birth and my pregnancy including all his sonogram pictures.
I would explain that the Ziploc baggie of obituaries are dear to me because it is all I have left to remember my loved ones including my grandfather, grandmother, great- grandmother, and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. I have collected them throughout the years of experiencing many deaths in our family.
I would then explain that photos are just special in general and carry many fond memories of my childhood.
The insight that I gained from this exercise is that I never really thought about what things are really important to me. I say this to say that, now that we've completed this exercise I want to keep these three things in a safe place together just in case! I now know that the material things are not as important as the sentimental things that are dear to my heart that are not replaceable!
Hi Theresa - I enjoyed reading your blog. I also chose sentimental items to take with me. Before this assignment, I had never given any thought as to what I would do in such a situation as this. It was a very thought-provoking assignment. I love the photo of your son. He is adorable!
ReplyDeleteHI Theresa, isn't it fascinating how we have all included family photo's to take along. The sad thing that happened to us as a family was when we moved to the middle east, my youngest daughter's baby book went missing. She loved looking at all the photo's and records and reading the letters I wrote to her before she was born. She still gets very upset that it went missing. I have decided to make her a new one for her 21st Birthday, while it will not be the same as the original it will still be a book of memories she can share with her children one day. Family is so important. things can always be replaced. I think a new insight gained is that for all people a sense of belonging is valued, so even when we as Early Childhood Professionals feel that a particular family don't care, we could not be further from the truth. They just have a different perspective and we should not judge, but support, and encourage them.
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