Getting packed up kills me

Since our supply of bar soap was getting low, my wife and I decided to take a trip, stay in a few motels, and collect the unused or barely used bars of soap for home use...

Getting ready to leave on a trip is something I dislike intensely, but it's something I do because I like to get gone. So here I am, listening to my playlist on Spotify, “The Saxiest Music Alive”. It's a collection of great songs for the sax. I'm listening to this as I pack up the stuff we will need for our trip to Arizona. Of course, right now, I took a break to write this entry. I'm still listening to the music though.

Undoubtedly in the packing up of stuff, I will forget something, or find that something I had intended to bring is broken or misplaced somewhere. Like my flashlight. It's the black flashlight that I traded my blue one to Brady Bird for years ago when he was a Scout and wanted the blue one. With all the grandkids running around here that won't leave things alone, that flashlight, there on my headboard two days ago, has now vanished into the chaos of our cluttered house. I'm still missing the red-handled can opener, and my expensive can-opener has been missing for months. One day, all of it will turn up, buried now under tons of extra clothing, toys, or gadgets.

The thing I like least about packing is the packing. I think I need to find someone to help who's good at it. If you have any suggestions, I'd appreciate them.

Once we're on the road it's a different story. I find that I've undoubtedly put the food box to where it's just out of reach, and the water jug requires a weightlifter's strength to pry it from where it has slipped and wedged between the seats. I find that our toiletry box is sliding around with every curve in the road, dumping its contents with every bump.

“Get a system,” folks say. “I keep everything I take in a backpack,” says one friend, “then I just grab the pack and go.” Of course, he's saying this about actually backpacking. Maybe I could develop some kind of system like this to use for car trips. I think about doing it every time I have to pack, and then after I come home, promptly forget about it. Until the next time we're getting ready to leave.

One thing's for certain. After we're on the road, too far from home to return, we'll find out we've left behind some of the most important things. Like the time we left the traveler's checks back home on the dresser. Thank goodness we don't still have the Car from Hell.

In the end though, the most important things will be in the trusty 4runner—that being Ann and I. And if we forget the food, well, there are stores along the way. Okay, back to packing, and listening to that saxy music.