Personal Documents
As paperless as we try to be, it still takes a lot of paper to be a human in this world - and for that matter a pet (don't worry - I won't forget our furry, scaly, feathery and all other skinned pet friends). In this section, we'll pull together all of the personal documents for you. If you're creating a Facts of Life Book for someone else like a child or significant other, you'll want to collect these documents for them as well.
Gather Information
In the Facts of Life Course, I'll guide you through identifying what information you need for each important person (and animal) in your life - whether that's your immediate family, someone for whom you have caregiving responsibilities, or another person. For each of those individuals, you'll want to gather their important documents. Here is a list of some of the things Facts of Life Course participants gather for each individual:
birth certificate
social security/government identification card
driver’s license/identification card
passport and other residency documentation (visa, green card, etc.)
birthdates and place of birth for each person
social security or identification number(s) for each person
marriage license
adoption papers
divorce records
current addresses and phone number for each person
current baby sitter/school/work phone number for each person
Please know that this is in no way an exhaustive list. In the course, we'll discuss a variety of additional information.
Typical Documents for Pets
My dog Kona is a full-fledged member of the family and so I treat him as an equal in my Facts of Life Book. Here are a few things you might include for the important pets in your life:
adoption or purchase records
registration documents with AKC or other organization
current vaccination records
veterinarian, doggy day care, groomer, and/or boarding contact information, perfect to add to your Emergency Plan.
Resources
In the Facts of Life Course and Community, you'll gain access to carefully curated and evaluated resources including web sites, tools, books, and more to help you gain more knowledge and information in areas that might be particularly important to you. Here on the website, I share just a few of my favorites for each major topic.
Ready.gov - The U.S. Federal Government has a well designed resource page to help you get prepared specifically for emergencies where government intervention may be necessary (think natural disasters, terrorist events, etc.). Specifically, I like their "Make a Plan" tool which provides a perfect way to get started with gathering your personal information in an easy to complete online form that will email you a summary PDF of the information you enter.
Want to have a bit of fun with this? Create a User Manual for You - this is a nice example of one.