We were watching NCIS recently, and two characters who have newly started dating are talking about who their emergency contacts were. The boyfriend confessed that he made his new girlfriend his. Her reaction is sweet and loaded with significance.
Which got me thinking about how much meaning we put on this simple, practical gesture.
It used to be pretty easy. Your emergency contact would be a parent or guardian until you started filling out your own paperwork. Then, it might still be that parent or guardian. Or a spouse, or some other family member. If you lived far away from your family, maybe a friend in the area.
Either way, it’s come to signify more than just someone to call ‘just in case’ for practical purposes. Your emergency contact should be someone who would help you if you get into trouble, someone who could race to the hospital if need be, or come pick you up somewhere.
When you put down someone as your emergency contact, you are saying something about that relationship.
You are saying that the relationship is:
- stable enough not to need updating in the foreseeable future
- close, both in geographic and emotional proximity
- dependable (no one wants a flaky emergency contact)
Who would you put down as your emergency contact?
pieces of paper (cranes & airplanes) 