What Would You Take?

If you had just two minutes to evacuate your home - and assuming all human beings and pets are evacuated safely - what would you take?

Most people don't hesitate. They would take family photos, scrapbooks, family memories. In fact, I have a friend who keeps a packed suitcase in her front hall closet. It's not packed with clothes - just precious family photo, ready for the grabbing in case she needs to make a quick exit.

I've been scrapbooking for years. Photos and ticket stubs and other memorabilia spill out of boxes piled high in a spare closet. And I'm embarrassed to tell you just how many digital photos are hiding out on my computer's hard drive. 

So many memories! Our honeymoon. The days my daughter's were born. Their first steps, first haircuts, first day of school, first time meeting Mickey Mouse.

And there are historic family photos. Great aunts and uncles at holiday gatherings from back in the 70s and even earlier. Yellowing photos of days gone by that pull at my heart and make me smile.

I love my photos because they connect me to my fondest memories. They remind me of what's most important - my family. I'm rarely without my camera or at least, my smart phone, so I can snap memories as they happen. I'm definitely known as the family shutterbug and historian. And I love those titles.

Are you the family historian? How do you make and preserve your family's memories? And what would you grab if you just had minutes to run out of your home?