Whether traveling for one day or one week, by car, by train, or by plane, the same line from "A Few Good Men" runs through my head the night before: "Santiago was leaving for the rest of his life. Yet he hadn't called a soul, and he hadn't packed a thing."
Dramatic, I know, but the key to that line is the part about not having packed a thing. Granted, vacation doesn't mean leaving a place for the rest of one's life, but when I have to pack luggage, it sures feels like it. As Jack Nicholson's character replied, "Maybe he liked to pack in the morning," I thought, 'Yes, yes, that's it crazy Marine colonel, I, Michelle Apuzzio, am a morning packer!' I think it goes back to the couple of times that I left my toothbrush on the bathroom sink, having forgotten to stow it in my luggage after brushing my teeth on the morning of those departures. There's nothing worse than arriving at your destination at night and realizing you don't have a toothbrush.
I like to make sure I'm ready for the day's travels before I get to work with my my handy travel checklist. I used to have that luxury...before I had a child. Now it's prudent to work like an elf, getting all those mundane tasks completed while the child sleeps the night before. Still, habits are hard to break.
Last Friday I sat on the couch reading the local newspapers while my husband began packing the one suitcase that we agreed we'd bring. When I had combed through every possible nugget of news, even reading the event listings for that weekend despite the fact that we'd be more than 800 miles away, I finally made my way upstairs where my husband had already pulled together clothes for both him and our son.
Me: "I hate packing."
Him: "It takes two seconds."
Me: "One (pause), two (pause), I'm not packed yet. It takes more than two seconds."
I'm not sure why I procrastinate when it comes to packing. It's not for a lack of wanting to leave home. Maybe I just don't like determining so far in advance what I'll be wearing. I like to have everything in my wardrobe at my disposal, although I'll admit it's so much easier getting dressed when there are fewer choices. Whatever the reason, I flitted around for a few minutes as my husband occasionally popped his head in to check on my (lack of) progress.
Me: "What kind of restaurants do they have in Greensboro?"
Him: "Do you need to bring different outfits for Friday's and Cracker Barrel? Because I think that's what we're looking at."
[For the record, we did eat at a Friday's. And a Biscuitville, but that's a whole other post.]
"What's the weather going to be like?" I asked, still searching for any straw that might delay my putting clothing into a suitcase. He took pity and humored me by starting up his laptop to check on the weather.
"Ooh wait, will there be any Piggly Wiggly supermarkets in the area? I always wanted to go to a Piggly Wiggly!" I exclaimed. I looked over his shoulder as he discovered there would be none in the area of North Carolina that we were to visit.
Him, while looking up weather: "You could at least start packing socks and underwear."
Me: "Oh no I can't. I pack those last, once I have the outfit set."
I was dead serious, but I knew my excuses were getting flimsier so I got to work with my travel checklist.
Although I didn't pack any clothes until the next day, I was packed and ready with plenty of time to spare the next morning. Because, after all, I am a morning packer.
