WHAT WOULD YOU TAKE?

Have you ever had that conversation about what you would take if you had to pack up and leave your home behind? We did. Lots of times. Usually jokingly. I would say, "if there there is a slooww burning fire, these are the things you need to take: every picture on the wall, ALL photo albums, footprint canvases, memory boxes, ALL my books, and try to shove the piano outside real fast too." And the list grew the more I wandered around the house.
But when those sirens rang through the streets and we were told to evacuate... When I walked outside to see a sky of orange smoke... it became real. And the joke became a test. What WOULD I bring? What DID I need?  What was unreplaceable? And the answer?
Nothing.
Nothing was unreplaceable besides the three sleepy children looking up at me, wondering why I was panicking.  So backpacks were made, lovies & binkies & diapers were packed. Extra clothes, food & water (which turned out to be unneccessary), and their memory boxes. That's all. Books could be rebought. Pictures could be reprinted. That was all I needed.
Of course, I doubted myself as I saw neighbors packing flat screens, valuables and a crock pot (must've been a very nice crock pot). And as I drove away, looking back at my house surrounded in a cloud of smoke, I doubted even more. But as regret crept upon me, I looked back at my babies and knew that we were safe, and that everything would be alright.