Packing

It never occurred to me how much work it takes for a family to prepare to go to a foreign country for an extended period of time. That is, until I began preparing for our relatively short 7-week trip. It's not that Gene and I are taking all that much for ourselves, but we are helping to resupply a guest home, as well as taking gifts to Kara and Eric and their two little girls . . . gifts from grandpas and grandmas here in the States.

I have scoured Northwest Arkansas for bargains, taking my long list with me. If one Walmart didn't have what I wanted, sometimes another one would. Did you know that it's almost impossible to find a plain ol' bottle opener? Not the one that sings to you or plays a tune (truly, they're out there), or the one that comes with other gadgets. Just the plain old-fashioned "pop the lid off the bottle" bottle opener.

Then there was the day I was checking out at Walmart, at the end of another successful shopping spree. I had finally located simple hard plastic cake and brownie cutters, so I grabbed all six that were in stock. The checker scanned them, and as she did the sixth one, she said, "And what, may I ask, are you going to do with six of these?" "Just taking them to Kenya," I replied. Which, of course, started a conversation about why and where. It's a good thing I prefer shopping when Walmart isn't crowded. No one was behind us as I told her about our adventure. "I haven't even been out of Arkansas," she said.

Oh, and did you know that there's really no way to silence a singing stuffed animal inside a suitcase when the suitcase is moved? Nope. I'd have to rip open the poor animal and find the battery chip to shut it up. So I decided I'd let it sing. Perhaps the baggage handlers for American Airlines will enjoy the tunes.

Storage bags are wonderful. You know, the kind that you use your vacuum to suck the air out and shrink everything down? One of our suitcases contains a queen size bed-in-a-bag, four sets of bathroom towels, a stack of 10 kitchen towels, an extra set of queen size sheets, plus a couple sweaters. To say nothing of an amazing number of little things stuffed in every nook and cranny. And still under the 50 pound limit. Whew!

Packing is like working a jigsaw puzzle. If this piece doesn't fit, then maybe that one will. And if not in this suitcase, perhaps in that one. Packing requires a plan, determination, patience and flexibility. At least for me, since I'm not a veteran packer. I understand that our friend, Richard, has it down to a science. But . . . we're almost done. I only have one suitcase yet to pack, except for our carry-on bag, Gene's briefcase and the laptop computer bag. But it's only Friday night. I have 48 hours before the final crunch hits. So I'm going to bed. Night all.