One neurotic chick

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We went away for three days. Yes, three days.

What a production. It wasn’t like throwing clean underwear in a bag (like when I was in my 20s). First I had to pack up old cat Jake, who went to kitty camp because he needs meds.

To pack him up, I packed his favorite bed (that he hasn’t slept in for months) which I lined with one of my tee-shirts so he could remember who dumped him off he could have something familiar. I included enough food to last for his entire lifetime (just in case). Plus snacks. There was also a sheet of detailed instructions that no one would read. You know…in case he didn’t eat; what his favorite food was; that kind of thing.

Then there were the other three cats. One is on a diet so we can’t leave food out. The sitter would have to put food for the other cats at high places so Hazel couldn’t “hoover” them up.

There were massive notes that rivaled “War and Peace” left for all involved in cat sitting.

Now it’s me. I packed five outfits. Yep for three days. Let me explain.

We were invited to a fabulous lakeside house of an old friend of the beloved husband. It’s north of where I live. Temperatures were predicted to be in the low 70s.

Most of you would think that would be ideal. For me that’s chilly. I packed long pants, sweat pants, sweatshirts, normal tops, hoodies and capris (just in case they were wrong). I also threw in my favorite fleece blankie and fleecy socks. (I don’t go anywhere without my fleece blankie!)

There was a chance of showers so that mean some rain gear too. As is my luck, it started raining before we left and the temperature at our home was well below 70.

Now for the food – remember three days. I often go three days on very little. However, I packed snacks (we never eat snacks), all sorts of booze (that would put us in a catatonic state) and oh yes, meat. More meat than we eat in a month!

Why do I think I will starve on a three-day trip? Not gonna happen. The hosts will have tons of stuff there. I’ve been there before and there was enough to feed the Sixth Fleet in a nuclear holocaust.

It must be a fear of survival ingrained in my psyche.

Then there was reading material. While everyone else would be hiking or swimming, I intended to catch up on some reading. I had one unread book on my Kindle. Would that be enough? If I needed more, did they have internet reception there?

Last time we spent hours laughing and giggling. I did some reading while those more athletic were doing those things but I didn’t get through a book. I don’t know why worry about these things.

Is it travel neurosis!

It was a fabulous trip! There was more than enough food. Even though the weather was cold and rainy I had clothes I didn’t wear and I only read 10 pages of my book!

Perhaps next time I won’t be so neurotic. No, that’s not likely to happen!

42 thoughts on “One neurotic chick”

  2. Your story made me think of how everyone made fun of me when I was a young mom. Everyone said that my diaper bag contained enough supplies to support a small daycare. I was prepared for every conceivable emergency. Or so I like to believe. Eventually we got to where a small pack of wipes, a couple of diapers, and a back-up bottle (just in case) were about all that was needed. But they still made fun of me anyway. 🙂

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  5. You would have done well in the era when people traveled with steamer trunks! I always overpack, too, although since we purchased a Prius I’ve been a little better and paring down. I think it’s all about having choices and options and not needing to travel light! You could do it if you had to, but why give up your freedom of choice! It’s your prerogative, and I think you should wear it (all of it) proudly. 🙂

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    • When you are driving the need to pare down isn’t so critical. No one is charging by the pound. When I got to our friends’ home and they saw I had two big satchels, I told them the steamer trunks were following.

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  7. I could fill a truck with what I bring along when we go away. And then I wear the same couple of outfits because, well, I pack the wrong things every single time.

    Once I went on a beach vacation with no suit; another time I forgot shirts. Underwear, yup. You think of it, I’ve forgotten it.

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    • OMG! That is so me. I packed for the beach one year and took 2 pair of jeans and the rest shorts. I wore those jeans every single day because a cold front came in. Had to buy a sweatshirt. I always forgot something like deodorant. Then I have to pay $20 for a stick of something I hate.

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  8. I was just reading an article yesterday about the art of packing light for a trip — wearing clothes more than once, washing unmentionables in the hotel sink at night, etc. All in the name of having nothing more than a small suitcase. Of course, women have very thin shoes, and those articles rarely show mens shoes in the pictures!

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    • Our shoes maybe thin but we take multiples. You need sneakers, the casual shoes and maybe a sandal…..I did pack light once for a weekend in Atlanta but I was young. No meds, just heels and lipstick. Not so much now.

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    • I know that feeling. I have the sitter text me the first day to be sure she got in ok and everything was fine. After that I’m better. For this trip, there was no cell service where we were staying. Fortunately it was so short I didn’t worry too much. If I go away longer than 5 days, I miss them.

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  10. I am not a traveling peep anymore, but if I was I would probably over do the packing. But I wouldn’t take food or drink because I wouldn’t go anywhere there wasn’t stores and restaurants. I would take chocolate and a book.

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    • I like traveling where there are Starbucks and pizza places. For the most part we are not travelers anymore either. This 3 day trip is it for this year. My husband went to visit his kids in Denver in May for a long weekend and got homesick. For some people that urge pops up after retirement. For me, I traveled a lot in my youth and that was enough.

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  12. Oh, you’re a planner! That’s me, too. Minus the meat. (I always bring chocolates.) And I leave five pages of instructions just in case something goes wrong.

    My own persona superstition is that if I can plan for every single disaster, it won’t happen. Because it’s the bus you didn’t see coming that’s gonna mow you down.

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  13. I try to keep my travel necessities to a minimum but still come home, whether I’m gone overnight or 2 weeks, with unworn clothes. I was in NYC last weekend with 3 friends and managed to almost wear everything…almost! Snacks? Yes! I always bring some on my travels and usually end up eating most of them on the way home. Hope Jake has fully recovered from his weekend at kitty camp.

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    • I’m so bad when I got to the shore for a week. I take cool weather clothes and hot weather clothes and I wear all of one and none of the other. You just never know with weather! Jake is recovering and demanding lots of attention.

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  15. I have a blankie(that is a beach towel that is also wrapped around my waist when not doing blankie duty that CH calls my “dress”) and a pillow that goes with me on trips! I love all those cool weather clothes you mention,can’t wait for Fall. Could NEVER move to Florida 24/7! Zip up hoodies make me happy! Glad you had a fabulous trip!

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    • I wear hoodies pretty much 12 months out of 12. Even on a warm day, around 4 p.m. my blood sugar drops or something and I get cold. Everyone else is in minimal clothing and I have a hoodie on. Let them laugh, I’m happy.

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  16. When you come visit me . . . you may bring snacks . . . you may bring booze . . . you need not bring meat! :mrgreen:

    Glad you had a fun time. Did Jake remember you when you picked him up from kitty camp?

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  17. When I travel now, my rule is very simple – if it does not fit in my “carry on” (flight) luggage, it gets left behind. It is no trouble moving around with it and I can “fly” through airports. If I am staying for a week or two, there are always laundry facilities some where with food stores nearby. Not only do I totally love traveling light, it creates so many unplanned adventures! 🙂

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  18. I am the opposite! I travel with the bare minimum. When I went to Bermuda for ten days the customs official asked where the rest of my luggage was. And when we came back from Africa after two years, all we had was one big suitcase and a baby!

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