what a week!

i finished work on friday. we had a base wide christmas party that night, which is where the real craziness begins. just as the kids and i were about to pick up chris to go to the party, he calls and says he had to go to a meeting. fantastic! i wasn't sure that i'd really know anyone at the party and quite honestly, wasn't up for tackling two kiddos on my own all evening. that being said, i decided to go and check it out. so glad i did. it was fun. my friend, misty and her clan, were there. she was a kind soul and helped me out with mya so i could do some of the crafts with claire. both kiddos were traumatized at the sight of santa. thankfully, we didn't have a santa to visit this year, which spared us that agony. claire eventually warmed up to the jolly man, but it took several of her friends paving the way. both of our kiddos were ripping up the dance floor; however, this wasn't a dance per say. they had entertainment--a bubbleman, sand guy, quartet, so our kids, were THOSE kids. you know, the ones, going crazy in the middle of the floor, but they were well behaved and had a great time.anyway, chris arrived and the saga begins. he suggests i go home with the kiddos for christmas. obviously, this was a huge turn from our original plans, so something was definitely up. i debated, but rationalized with him. several other military personnel left the party, but returned, mentioning no such plans to their wives, so why mine. anyway, news was out that n. korea was going to play dirty and fight. he was simply trying to get us out of here before things got ugly. chris and i are pretty good together. when one of us gets crazy, the other mellows them out. it is our way. generally, chris is the mellow one and i am the crazy one, but not this time. i kept my cool and pushed for the original plan. we have a plan if the intensity increases. we'll evacuate. after the debacle at thanksgiving time, i had planned on packing that bag, but haven't. until now. my bag is packed. you know that one bag. the little game you used to play to pass the time--if you were going to a deserted island and all you could bring with you was one bag? what would be in it? yeah. never thought it would be real. never. my get away bag (for all three of us) is in my car. ready to roll. nope, we are not fleeing from bill collectors or bad guys and our house isn't on fire. we are ready to go if and when n. korea decides to play dirty. real dirty. let's just hope that day never comes. thankfully, the s. korean exercise is over and things are calm on both sides of the border. our minds are at ease, yet we are vigilent.  i can't quite imagine life without my precious things. sick thinking, i know, but really. i have some pretty great treasures that won't fit in one suitcase and i know i'd look like a terrible mom if i left my kids behind and took the treasures ;) only kidding of course. my kiddos are my most prized possession, i think you all know that. so, i'll leave you with a little thinking...if you had to pack one bag and leave all else behind, what would you bring?