Packing

The ease and value of the short trip – one or two outfits not seven, low cost, fast execution ---- if it doesn’t work out you are only two hours from home.   

This past weekend I went to Vail, Co.  Not quite off-season, but it is quiet and autumn in the mountains is beautiful.  It is not that time of year when crowds become a consideration for everything you do --- reservations for dinner, lines to the lift, finding a seat at the bar.  This was a special trip as my son and daughter plus my favorite Canadian daughter-in-law gathered to celebrate the arrival of fall, cooler weather, and the arrival of a baby girl to add to our skiing posse.

I am not writing about the value of off-season travel, skiing or celebrating the birth of a granddaughter — no I am talking about packing.

 I walked into my daughters’ room and looked at the assortment of fabrics resting haphazardly within the confines of the two halves of her clam shell suitcase.  “I know dad, I haven’t improved my packing skills”. In truth I was somewhat of a packing czar in the days that I had more control over the comings and goings of my children.  I have mellowed these days and come to the understanding that how they pack for a trip is of little concern to me and very much an individual sport.  

There are clearly styles of packing, but philosophically I find packing the least attractive part of traveling with the possible exception of getting to the airport, taking my clothes off for security, waiting to be herded onto the plane, sitting in a sardine can of a seat in a sardine can of an airplane, hoping to recover luggage, finding a ride to your hotel, finding your hotel

I digress…. The idea of packing for a long trip, defined as more than a week but less than three is formidable.  The idea of peering into the future to decide what you are going to wear and to what, yet to be determined, event, is a challenge.  There is the issue of shoes — tennis shoes, casual shoes, formal shoes and what if you are a woman how many shoes for how many outfits can be daunting.  How cold will it be, will it rain?  Do I need sweaters and if so how many?  Just the idea of chronicling in your head all of your activities for days at a time, when you do not have access to that closet full of possibilities. After all of this foretelling of the future you have to figure out how to place all of these items into a suitcase.   I once dated a woman who literally wrap every piece of clothing in plastic wrap before placing it into the suitcase.  Now I like the idea of using plastic wrap judiciously but even I could not go that far.  

The value of the short trip is the convenience of carry-on vs checking your bag.  Figuring out what to wear for three days is a lot easier than for ten or twelve.  Mistakes can be corrected as your short trip is probably close to home and therefore you can always find a store selling the sweater you forgot.

Packing is not a one-way street…Once you have completed packing your selection and successfully arrived at your destination, now you have to unpack the bag.  Do you unpack everything? Just the things that need hanging, just your toilet items? For sure you will have to unpack everything because the pair of jeans you want to wear are at the bottom of the bag.    It is a good reason to limit the number of stops on your trip because it limits the number of times you unpack and pack.    

The short trip solves many of these problems — one packing and one repacking — 

By the way, why is it that even though you did not purchased additional items, is your bag more difficult to close?

My daughter had packed for a long trip and I in my smug, self-congratulatory way had packed for a short trip.  Managing to get everything in one carry-on bag.  One other unnecessary contest with yourself — At the end of the trip the goal is to have worn everything at least once.  I wore everything, only one repeat and everything washed.  Now that is successful packing .

I left my daughter’s room feeling good that I had not criticized her packing job which would have been the criticism of no value. Comfortable in the feeling that I did not have to repack her bag as I have become so adult in the understanding that my opinion is just that, an opinion but not necessarily correct. Plus, the comfort that I will repack all of my items I so carefully folded and placed in the bag but now I don’t have to worry about the shirts I wore because I have more to choose from when I return home.  

I am worried — next week I have to pack for a longer trip.   I am sweating with packing anxiety.