I am beginning...to pack!

Excess baggage is a symptom of something we are missing on the inside – a fear that we won’t be accepted for what we are, as if our selves are not enough. We bring too much of our past experience, the clutter of our emotions. These things get in the way and keep us from getting close to others. Then we are left with the task of having to find someone else to carry it, whether it is our luggage or our loneliness.     ~ Mary Morris

If you check out my master packing list, you might assume I'm plagued by some of Ms. Morris's fears. However, I prefer to think excessive baggage is not a symptom of an underlying psychological problem, but is a desire to be prepared for anything. The days when I could toss a couple of changes of underwear and a spare shirt into a backpack and go are long gone.

Maybe it started when our kids were little, but I now require stuff. You never know when you'll need it. Especially on a trip of this length. I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. 

So for the last three months or so, we've had a "staging area" set up in our room--a  long folding table where we'd toss things we wanted to take and were afraid we'd forget if we didn't put them someplace where we'd see them easily once we got the suitcases out. We pondered storage ideas for our cabin. We assembled a traveling medicine chest for common ailments. We will, after all, be exploring several new "germ belts" and may well encounter a few bugs we've never met before. We thought about things that would make our life onboard both semi-organized and comfy.

I always roll my clothes. I fit more in that way!

Then I started thinking about what clothes to take. I made a list of every article and then ticked it off as it went into a suitcase. (That's why when you check out my Master List you'll notice that the items are color coded depending on which bag they're in. Black means it's not packed yet.) I do this not because I'm organized, but because I'm not. If I didn't write it down and check it off, I'd never remember whether or not I'd packed certain things and I'd fret about it.

This way...less stress.

When you check the master packing list, you'll notice that it only catalogs my clothing. Mostly. That's because very early in our marriage I cured my DH from wanting me to pack for him. (Spending a whole weekend with no changes of underwear will do that to a man. And no, I did NOT do it on purpose!) So he has his 2 suitcases & carry on, and I have mine (though I must admit that some of my overflow is finding its way into his!)

Once you take a peek at my manifest, you may think of something I've forgotten. Please  let me know. I only have 3 weeks to go!

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