I’ve raved a number of times about US blogger Carla Birnberg – who I’ve been following since her MizFit days – and who has inspired a number of my blog posts, including this one.

Yesterday Carla talked about her ‘personal first aid kit’ – an exercise she did with her daughter. The idea behind the kit is that it treats, comforts and heals emotional injuries – just as its better-known counterpart does with the physical kind.

Carla soon realised their perception of their ‘kits’ were vastly different. Carla was thinking of ‘things’ to lock away for a rainy day, whereas her young daughter was less metaphorical, identifying Carla and their family dog, for example.

There’s obviously no correct answer here but it allowed me to consider my own personal first aid kit. Thanks to a number of factors and my 48yr old hormones my emotions have been all over the place of late so it seems timely then that I would identify the things which will nourish / nurture me when things get bad. And I’m limiting myself to five.

1. A book.
It’d be almost impossible for me to select one book but if I did it’d have to be something I could read again and again. It’s cheating but The Complete Novels of Jane Austen would be a no-brainer for me. I read it in its entirety while in a challenging situation a few years ago and all of Austen’s offerings. And – in case you didn’t know – in my world reading makes almost everything better.

2. A bathtub. Or similar.
Another no-brainer and anyone who knows me (or has seen my banner or social media profiles will guess this one…). Now I know an actual bathtub wouldn’t fit in my kit, but pampering products most certainly would!

In all honesty I could take or leave the bubbles and fizzy things as it’s the comforting sensation of the warm water that I appreciate, but smelly stuff is always an added bonus.

3. My phone or iPad 
Although I hate to admit it doing without my phone AND iPad would nearly kill me. I know they’re huge time-wasters but that’s exactly why I need and appreciate them. They kill time. They give me something to do. And – just as importantly – they connect me to others.

4. Vanilla Diet Coke
I’ve basically given up consuming the stuff on a regular basis, however… there are some days when just a swig will make everything alright. I’m not sure what it is about the fizzy black goodness that does it and how much is psychological, but this one is another no-brainer for me.

Back in the day I’d buy them on sale… 2 for $6 or similar.

5. A card from my mum (and dad)
Carla included something in her kit to remind her she was loved and I’ve stolen that idea for my last item… which – if push came to shove – would probably be the first item I threw into my first aid kit. My mum gave me this card around the time I got my redundancy from government four years ago. My dad had been gone for nearly a year then.

What would you include in your personal first aid kit? 

As it’s Friday I’m flogging my blog With Some Grace again today.