My Family Culture

If I survived a major catastrophic event, I would feel lucky that I survived. To be told that I had to evacuate to a new location, I would immediately feel anxious and stressed. The unknown of not knowing where I would be relocated to and what it is like there would cause a whole mix of emotions and feelings. 

If I could only take three items with me, I would take my awareness bracelet for agenesis of the corpus callosum, my recipe book of family recipes, and a family photo album. These items are special to me and would be sources of comfort during a time of transition and unknowns. 

I would explain to others that the awareness bracelet represents my youngest daughter. She was born with agenesis of the corpus callosum, meaning her corpus callosum is missing from her brain. The bracelet not only represents her, but it brings awareness to her and her brain disorder. The recipe book has a collection of recipes from my family and my husband's family. While some of the recipes in it may be unknown in this new location I would be in, it is a collection of meals that were important to our families. The photo album is a way to look back at family and memories. 

Upon arriving, if I was told I could only keep one of my items and had to give up the other two, I would feel sad. These three items are special to me so it would be difficult to choose which one to keep and which ones to give up. I would have a really hard time making this decision. 

As a result of this exercise, I gained the insight that people have things that are meaningful and near and dear to their heart. Some may be material things while others may be memories.  Some may be big, and some may be small. No matter what they are, these things provide people with a source of comfort during difficult times.