There are many things that can cause people to need to leave their homes. How would you feel if you had to leave your home? The place you spend most of your time in, share a majority of memories, live with loved ones, and have various items that you would not want to leave behind. However, there are reasons people need to leave their homes such as relationship problems, job changes, and even disasters such as fires. My neighbors' house caught on fire the other day and immediately my family jumped into action.

It is not what you have, it is who you have.

What would you grab if you needed to leave your house in under two minutes? Do you think you would be calmly thinking about what has the most monetary or sentimental value? Or would you just grab your family, your beloved pet, a phone to call 911, and get out of there before you are injured?

As my neighbors' house is now uninhabitable, they are staying with us. I am happy to say that everyone is okay and there was even a cat revived by our volunteer EMTs. My family is lucky enough to have a separate apartment on our property where they have their own space and can cope with their loss while still being close to home. And what did they grab? There was only one person home so they did what I would have done. Grabbed their dog, their phone, and called 911 once they were safe from the flames. But what else is considered a necessity to grab when you are faced with such an intense situation?

The parent luckily had their favorite guitar at work with them and I saw something beautiful when I came home that evening. We went down to the apartment to check on our shaken up visitors and they had just finished playing their guitar. For them, music and family were all they needed at the moment. They were extremely thankful to have been invited to stay and have been given the opportunity to be as close to their home at possible.

I learned an important lesson from this experience. Although I had not lost anything at all from the fire across the street, I gained so much. We fill our homes with important and unimportant things, but what truly matters when we are left with almost nothing? It is our loved ones who matter the most. My neighbors' and I were not extremely close prior to this experience, but now we have a unique bond. We have realized that companionship is something that cannot be burnt away. We know our friendship made during this experience cannot be lost easily. And we know we will all prevail and grow from this experience.

Please think to yourself, "What would I want to have with me if I lost everything?" Remember that clothes and laptops can be replaced, but loved ones and your few cherished items cannot be.