Sometimes moments in my life pass by in a blur. I remember bits and pieces of them, but the details are all foggy. Then I snap to it, look back and wonder, “What the heck was I thinking.” A moment like that pretty much kicked off my vacation just over a week ago.
The day before we left we realized that we had pretty much no clean clothes. I did laundry all day. That evening Derek folded while I I hosted a social for the spouses of Derek’s squadron. It was really fun. I love seeing all those awesome ladies. It was a paint-along party. Our art turned out lovely.
After everyone left I was exhausted, my back was killing me, and I was dreading the 4:45 wake up call the following morning in order to catch our 6am flight. Luckily, I have an amazing husband. All our toiletries were packed, all my laundry was folded and sitting on the bed. I just needed to pick out clothes for the trip and put them in the suitcase.
“I’m so tired. I don’t even know what the weather is going to be like. I hate packing. I have no idea what to bring. What should I bring? I can’t do this.” I whined that to Derek upon walking into our room and throwing myself down on the floor.
“Ok–ay. Well, the weather is going to be chilly. Pretty much like it’s been here the last two weeks. And–this is what you’ve worn the last two weeks. So just pack some of that.” Derek is always nice and logical. He pointed at the stack on the bed. It was a good point. There were lots of basics, solid t-shirts, a couple sweaters, a cardigan or two.
After that I don’t remember much about the rest of the night. It’s all just a blur.
The following night we stayed in Portsmouth, NH. When I got up the following morning and tried to get dressed I was shocked. Just shocked. When I looked through the suitcase I just simply could not believe what I was seeing.
Hardly any of the clothes that had been on the bed had made it into the suitcase. I had brought the appropriate number of bottoms: two pairs of jeans, two pairs of leggings and two pairs of shorts–enough for a 10 day trip. But the tops–oh, the tops. Here’s what ended up in the bag.
Okay, setting aside the fact that I packed every purple article of clothing I own–why, I have no clue–just look at what I brought. Those two, nearly identical, purple tank tops have actually been in my Good will stack. They are ratty gym tops that have stains on them. I only wear them when I am completely out of clothes…and never if I’m teaching in front of a class.
Why that dressy top? No clue. We were going to a national park. And why, oh why are there only a few things? No basic long sleeves, no cardigans, no flannel button downs. And, what did I think I would wear those purple shorts with? One of the purple tank tops? Am I Grimace from the McDonald Play Place?
I sat in front of the suitcase for a long while. Just in utter disbelief. I didn’t even bring hiking socks. WHAT? Just low cut running socks.
I just really don’t know what happened.
I got dressed. Later–again, I have a great husband–we made a pit stop at an amazing outlet mall in Kittery, ME. Old Navy and the Columbia outlet set me up with more appropriate attire for the rest of the trip, but I’m still just really unsure about how I ended up with such a poorly packed bag. So as the rest of the week goes on and I show you photos from the trip–don’t judge me. I’m wearing that purple sweatshirt in nearly every photo.
Amy
