Boston and Unity

Several things have happened since our last post, but we'll address one thing at a time. The biggest happening was our trip to Boston two weekends ago. It was only for the weekend, but we packed a lot of fun into those two days. We purchased a few home furnishings at Ikea, visited the New England Aquarium, and dined at the Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in America - it's been a functioning restaurant since 1826. Some serious St. Patrick's Day madness was beginning just as we were leaving, so we definitely got out of Boston just in time.

We then spent Easter weekend with our family in Unity (which was a funny change of pace, going from an enormous town to a tiny one), and it was a nice getaway. We hadn't been out there in months, and it was good to see them again. Currently, Lauren is under the weather with flu-like symptoms (boo). She's doing all she can to get better, and I (Dee) am working diligently on a short story. It's coming along very well, I think, and I'll let you know as soon as it's done.

What would you take?

On Saturday night, Lauren and I were playing video games when we heard a commotion outside our door. We opened the door and saw a small crowd of people gathered, as well as a few policemen. The Townhouse apartment two doors down from us had a fire, we were told, and we should be prepared in case the fire spread.

Within minutes, our usually calm, quiet parking lot looked like a disaster movie. The picture included here doesn’t really reflect the sheer numbers of cops, firemen, and civilians that had gathered in the area. We began gathering our things, and that’s when we realized that we were faced with a very interesting, thought-provoking question: what are the most important things we own?

There are so many things crammed into our apartment that we couldn’t even begin to truly salvage our possessions. We could only take what mattered most. We packed a few clothes, a hard drive that has all of our photos, music, and documents, two or three books of special significance, and two shoeboxes filled with all of the written correspondence from our six year relationship. The questions we began asking ourselves were, “Is this replaceable? What would we be most devastated about losing?”

When faced with losing everything, we never once considered monetary value. Almost everything we were planning on taking out of there had some connection to friends or family. In the end, the fire caused very, very little damage. It never spread beyond its point of origin, no one was hurt, and things were quickly back to normal. However, it was a powerful reminder of what really matters in life. Between this fire scare and Lauren’s recent job situation, God has truly granted generous measures of perspective. We know what matters most in our lives, and we know that we’re in good hands.