Do you have a go bag? I don’t, but I’m going to change that this week!
Last night, we stayed up a little later than usual trying to catch up on things we’ve been neglecting. Last weekend we moved across the country and last Wednesday, we moved into our new house. It’s been a crazy week of unpacking, figuring out where everything is in our new area, catching up with old friends near and far (we had our first houseguests just 48 hours after moving in), and spending time as a family.
And last night, after being asleep for only seconds (or so it seemed), the unthinkable happened. My husband shook me awake, told me the house next door was on fire and that we needed to wake up the kids and get out of the house. When I woke up the kids and ran to the front door, a police officer was already on our front step telling us we needed to get out of the house. The house next door had rounds of ammunition going off in it and we weren’t safe in our house.
We literally ran out of the house. I had my phone but not my purse. I was wearing pajamas. The kids had no shoes. My husband had no wallet or phone. He had car keys because he had moved his truck but that was it. Everything else we owned was in the house.
{photo creds: 3TV/CBS5}
After standing out front for over an hour and being told that we most likely wouldn’t be allowed back for a few more hours, we decided to head to a hotel. Thankfully, I was able to get in touch with my dad in the middle of the night and he booked us a hotel room. As I lay in bed last night, it dawned on me that if anything were to happen, we wouldn’t have anything. And while I wasn’t super worried about our “stuff”, I realized it would be hard to replace all of our documents and IDs. I decided we really need a “go bag”…a bag with copies of all of our important papers. My plan is to put together a bag with copies of all of our birth certificates, passports, drivers licenses, marriage certificates, and adoption decrees. I’m also going to put together a digital vault with bank info, credit card info and more.
While last night was stressful and a little scary, it provided me with some valuable insight into what we would need in the event of an emergency.
The house next door is now boarded up and is expected to be condemned today.
Leave a Reply