Packing

Packing … ugh!  But if we’re going to take a little vacation I have to pack.  I always take too much – well, not quite always.  One time many years ago I arrived at our destination with everything for everybody (I did all the packing) except for my underwear!  Now, how does one forget to bring your own underwear?  Off to the store I went.  Another time in the winter we were going from Boston to Vermont where my parents lived and where there was a lot of snow and I forgot my boots!  Another trip to the store.  So now I make a list and check it twice and three times and on and on.

It’s frustrating to try to decide today what I want to wear 10 days from now.  I have enough difficulty deciding today what I want to wear.  And how do I really know what the weather is going to be for the next week?  And what exactly am I going to be doing?  Women have way too many choices to make when choosing what to wear on any occasion.

Since we live in Arizona the dress code is pretty casual.  My husband either wears jeans and a knit shirt or khakis and a sport/dress shirt.  Either sneakers or casual dress shoes and he’s all set.  I have to decide whether a skirt or pants; and if I choose pants, then I have to decide shorts, capris, cropped or slacks.  Then come the shoes  -- sneakers, sandals, closed toe, casual or dressy – and of course, then there is color.  That’s a story by itself.  The only time I have managed to have a completely color-coordinated wardrobe with appropriate shoes, etc. is when we lived on our sailboat in San Diego for five years.  I didn’t have any choice then … space was at a premium and everything needed to go together to make different outfits or I was going to be pretty bored wearing the same thing day after day.  It was an interesting experience … and I survived.  Actually it was my idea to move on board … that is another story.

The handbag used to be a dilemma too.  I need to bring one big enough to hold everything I need but not so big that I can’t carry it around if we’re doing a lot of walking.  I think I’ve found the solution to this one.  I bring a good sized purse and my “wallet” is a small clutch type purse that holds a wee bit of everything I need on a jaunt and that’s what I carry when I’m shopping the mall or sightseeing.  Much easier on the back and the arms.

The bags are packed and sitting in the family room; tomorrow I’m off to Phoenix to meet my husband (he lives and works in Phoenix during the week and I live in our home in Tucson) and we’ll be on our way to Lake Havasu and Laughlin for a few days of rest and relaxation. 

I wonder what I forgot … hmmm.

Blessings, Ann