On Saturday morning our dear friends Mae and Meggan woke up to the sound of the window in their kitchen exploding.  Their apartment was quickly filling with smoke, and they did not have much time to get out before it would be too late.  They managed to find 2 of their 3 kitties before they ran, the smoke rising up to their knees like water in a pool.

Mae was one of the first people I met when I moved to Chicago, and I was her first bellydance student.  She is one of the sweetest, most giving, people that I know, and I am proud to count her and Meggan among my closest friends.

It is hard to imagine a tragedy of this magnitude, and nearly impossible to imagine it happening to somebody close to you.  Saturday was one of those days that made us step back, worry about our little problems a little less, and give thanks for our friends and loved ones.

Kamran and I did get to talking, asking ourselves what we would try to save should something happen to our home.  Pepper, (our cat), number 1.  Then?  Our wedding photos?  “They’re backed up.”  Our hard drives?  “Backed up.”  Grandma’s Wedding Photos?  “Yes.”  Ummm, the printer?  “It’s 300 pounds, and insured.”  (One day I will tell you more about Kam’s printer, I promise. :))

It’s so easy to procrastinate on things like backing up your digital files, but we all know that things can happen.  It doesn’t have to take a tragedy to interrupt your life, but taking steps to protect yourself can pay off should your hardware fail or your computer catches a virus.  If you have your wedding photos on a disc, it is all to easy for that disc to get lost or damaged.  So take a few minutes today to save yourself the heartache later.

PCmag.com  has a number of great articles and reviews on online backup systems.  Many are free for a limited amount of storage, and most are very reasonably priced.  Some will automatically back up your drives so that you don’t have to remember to do it yourself.  I am no expert on this topic, so I will just recommend that you do some research and choose for yourself, but even choosing a free option will give you a lot of peace of mind.  Here is a helpful article on what to look for in backup services,  and this article compares a number of services.  Seriously, just check it out.

I will give you more updates on Mae and Meggan as I know more.  As of now, they have lost almost everything.  If you would like to help, a fund for donations has been set up here.

Most of all, though, go home and give your hunnie a hug.  Be grateful for today and all the small blessings, and take a few small steps to make sure you will be ok just in case the unexpected happens.

*hug*