The Essential Things

            I went to my sister’s house last month in Saratoga Springs. A lot of people in the areas around them were being evacuated from their houses because of the fires burning there. I noticed that on my sister’s fridge was a list scrawled in a child’s handwriting, and my sister said it was a list of things they would grab if they had to leave their home, too. I smiled because I was thinking of all the funny things that kids would put on the list. But I was surprised to see a list of only 4 or 5 things. I thought about what I would take if I had to leave my house, too. It was comforting to think that there is not much. We spend a lot of time worrying about our stuff, but it’s just stuff. And most everything can be replaced.