Day 27: Burnin' down the house

Believe it or not, I have given this topic a lot of thought over the years. When I was 16, my family had an extensive house fire. We were not home at the time (thank God it didn't happen in the middle of the night!) but it was still a pretty traumatizing experience. The majority of our home was gutted on the inside, and only a small part was structurally salvageable. That part did NOT include my bedroom or any of my belongings.

It was the week of the fair, which is pretty much the time of year that all Siskiyou County teenagers live for, and I had been staying with my friend Katie for a few days. Because of this minor detail, I was lucky enough to have my toiletries and a change of clothes in her car. She was actually supposed to stay with me Saturday night of the fair. I was at the fair all day, my parents were attending a wedding that evening, and my great-uncle had come to visit in his travel trailer the night before. If it wasn't for his impromptu visit, our home would have burned to the ground and we would have lost everything. It is quite an interesting story to tell, but I just don't have the time or the emotional strength to go through the whole story right now, so I will just say that it was a great learning experience.

I am, by nature and genetics, a hoarder. Nothing like what you see on TV (just don't ask my husband his opinion), but I know I have dangerous tendencies. My dad is a hoarder, so I figure I come by it honestly. I like to keep things of sentimental value and I find it very hard to part with anything that tugs at my heartstrings. Unfortunately, many things tug at my heartstrings. And the house fire had a convoluted effect on my hoarding habits. On one hand, it made me realize how so much of what we have is just "stuff," and how lucky we were that no one was injured. But on the other hand, I think I have an even harder time letting go of things because of it. I feel lucky for the things we were able to salvage and the things I have since collected...and I feel like I should keep it and enjoy it, because you never know when you won't have it anymore. When something like a freak house fire will force you to become a minimalist and start all over.

So...have you guessed yet that I would have a REALLY hard time taking only 5 things?

In the interest of saving time and my fingertips, I think I'll take the easy way out and say my cats, Jake, Clint, and our photos. I have lost everything once before and I could probably do it again. And seeing my parents make it through losing 25 years worth of stuff is pretty inspiring, too. In fact, maybe once every ten years something should happen to force me into a minimalist lifestyle. Clint will probably say that event was our wedding and combining of our belongings...but I am waiting for a bigger sign.