Well friends,
Thanksgiving has come and gone and here I find myself a year older, a little fatter and completely loving life. So much has happened in so little time! Let's see where shall I start? The good, the bad or the scary?...the scary? Ok the scary it is!
Well, do you remember back in Elementary school, Middle school (even a few times in High School) they'd do those practice fire alarms? The bell starts ringing, it's loud and ugly and you can't help but feel scared and panicked - even though you know it's just a practice - and your teacher is telling you "Ok. Don't panic. Leave your back pack and all your stuff here...we need to form a line and meet outside." Then as soon as your outside they tell you the importance of a fire escape plan for home as well. I remember going home, kind of traumatized, thinking "What if my house caught on fire?!?!" and I'd start making a plan and a list to make sure my family was safe and I'd have all my treasures.
I was not prepared.
It was just another regular day for Matt and I, probably the week before Thanksgiving. My mom, sister and my nephews decided to come over at the last minute and we were right in the middle of making Macaroni and Cheese when that same blaring wail filled the apartment. At first we all froze, looking at each other confused, then this robotic woman's voice came onto the speakers (the same speakers Matt and I have looked at several times and wondered what they were for) and said, "The fire alarm has been activated. Please evacuate the building." And repeated it over and over.
After some debate about what to do, it had never happened before, Matt and I decided to investigate the building to see what we could see. In the hallway everything seemed normal. A few others had come out into the hall to see what was going on, all confused as the robotic voice echoed off the bricks walls. When suddenly the biggest and loudest ventilators I'd ever seen started sucking all the air out of the building. At that moment my heart stopped and I knew...this is not a drill!!
We ran back into our apartment and told everyone to stop what they were doing, grab their coat and shoes...we needed to leave! A few of my nephews started to cry, which just made the already chaotic situation even more scary. But as I herd everyone to the door I flashed back to those elementary days where we practiced the drill and I thought, "What about my treasures?!?"
There's an entrance to our building, kind of like a lobby, but more like one of those separator rooms. Like when you walk into the bank and have to go through those double doors?...yeah, that but much bigger. As everyone sat in that "lobby" area anxiously, nervously waiting to see flames or smoke or for someone to jump out and say, "HA! You got punked!" the fire alarms and sirens got louder and louder and it wasn't long before firemen were running up the stairs and into the building.
I thought back to when I was standing in my apartment, thinking of my treasures, as scared as I was to lose everything Matt and I had worked so hard for...an apartment full of memories and goals...I knew there wasn't anything but what was in my arms that wasn't replaceable. The ONLY thing I hesitated about grabbing were the scriptures on my nightstand. My scriptures. So even though more police and firetrucks were showing up, and my imagination was going wild thinking of our apartment going up flames...I was ok with it because I knew I had everything right there I ever needed. My Matthew and my family =)
Ok, but seriously...if it hadn't ended up being a false alarm, it would have SUCKED.
Yeah, eventually the firemen came back down and even though they wouldn't let us go into our apartment yet, it was clear there was no fire. So thank you whoever you are that pulled the fire alarm. For a lesson of remembering my priorities and that worldly possessions are just as important as you make them.
