Living on the edge
November 3rd, 2007
I am a last-minute packer. I don’t get this from my mom, who starts packing for any trip at least a week in advance. It makes her nervous when she calls me two days before I plan to get on a plane and I have not even started doing laundry. But somehow, I always get it done.
I used to be good at packing a suitcase. I could sort out what I needed and arrange it efficiently in the space available. I prided myself on packing only what was necessary, and maybe a little less than that. After all, there are stores pretty much everywhere I go. If I reach my destination and decide I really did need that hairspray, I can buy it.
That changed when Annalie was born. The first time I was going on an airplane with her by myself, I managed to lay out on the bed everything I wanted to bring, but found myself staring uselessly at the open suitcase and the mounds of clothing. Maybe it was baby-brain, I don’t know. Whatever the cause, Troy saw my despair and offered to pack the suitcase for me. Yes! Please! And he is in the Navy, you know, so he’s adept at fitting lots of crap into any given space. (Those ships’ staterooms are approximately the size of a sardine can.)
Since that day, I have managed to never pack my own stuff before a trip again. I certainly could. After all, I pack bags for Annalie all the time. But it somehow decreases my stress to know that I am not responsible for cramming my stuff into a suitcase, along with the hundred and twelve other things I have to do before I leave. Troy says he geuninely does not mind. I think he sees it as a last little gift before we leave and he has the house, the TV, and the computer all to himself for a week or two. Whatever his reason, I truly appreciate it.
Now if only I could manage to give him more than a hour before we need to leave for the airport to get the packing done.
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In advance, have a wonderful trip and visit with your family.
From one last minute packer to another :)
I am a last minute packer too. Mainly because I spend TOO MUCH TIME ON THE COMPUTER.
Have FUN!!
I’m going to Salzburg for a few days at the end of the month and while my rucksack won’t be packed until the day before, my list of what to take was started the moment the trip was first mooted, two and a half weeks ago.
Happy trip!
Does hubby roll the clothing when he packs?
I can roll two weeks worth of clothing in a weekend suitcase.
I am the master packer in my household. I don’t pack light and I don’t pack heavy; it is always just right.
And by just right I mean it is rare I have many choices, but I seem to have just what I need.
Which is WEIRD b/c I haven’t been able to apply that same principle to my everyday life… bwahahaha!
Sounds like you have a great guy there. Mike hasn’t packed his own suitcase in quite a long time. But I don’t make my own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so it’s give and take.
…laughing at Angella’s comment. That’s my excuse for all my failures: TOO MUCH TIME ON THE COMPUTER!
In the time it took you to take the pictures, download them on the computer and write the whole entry, you could have been packed and ready to go. :)
Dana – one would think, but no. It was probably quicker (and less stressful for everybody) for me to pack and Bethany to take the pictures, download them to the computer, upload them to Flickr, and write the entry. We’re both pretty efficient in our own way. ;-)
Troy, I learned that you are also very helpful with cake making projects.
Funny, I am the packer in our house. I even pack the car now for trips. I am able to visualize how it should look and where everything should go before I start. I get compliments from boarder guards at the neatness of the trunk. And I love that everything has it’s place in my suitcase. If it doesn’t fit it doesn’t go.
Have a fun and wonderful trip.
[...] is not how I normally roll, but…it’s the night before we’re getting on an airplane, 14 whole hours before [...]
Don’t forget how they pack their seabags too… the amount of crap they can fit in there when they are deployed for long periods of time is genius!!
I’m the master packer here though. I once let my husband pack and he forgot all the toiletries and medications!
[...] of Annalie’s clothes are set out, with just a few more in the dryer. Troy is standing by, ready to pack when I give the [...]