So I am less than two weeks away from my departure to Adelaide, Australia via Rutland, Boston, LA, and Sydney. Without the daily grind of school to structure my days, I find myself wondering around the house thinking about all of the packing and preparation I need to complete only to become distracted by mundane tasks that will always exist - emptying the dishwasher, playing with the cat, reading my book, going through my sock drawer and discarding those that no longer have elasticity remaining.
I have never been a good packer. Not only do I hate doing it, I am also terrible at it. I am not sure however which one results from the other. What I do know is that my husband, Dave, is the poster child for "good packing". He sits down at the table and makes a thorough list of all the items he will need. Once the list is complete, he begins methodically gathering these items. When a particular essential is located, he brings it to his central staging area, only then is a single line drawn through that object on his list. The process continues and he moves on to the next item. These possessions are then gathered and placed in the appropriate stuff sacks and zip lock bags. These secondary packing vessels are then strategically placed in his larger bag on the basis of necessity and anticipated time of use.
There is nothing strategic about the way I pack. I wander around thinking about how I need to get started, and only begin once there is so little time, I have no choice but to begin the task. At which point, I run around leaving a wake of chaos behind me. I will have multiple piles accumulating in various rooms. I become frustrated searching the bathroom for a half filled, travel size tube of toothpaste. I panic that my favorite clothes will not dry in time and force me to either pack them damp or leave them behind. I check that I have my wallet and ticket information so many times I think I am truly going insane. And I spend the last fitful night wondering if the alarm is set correctly and if I have forgotten anything. There is no organization, no baggie wrapped toiletries, I am hoping that everything fits especially once I decide to add one more pair of jeans just to be safe. But I know it will get done, and I know that once I am in route there is nothing I can do, but deal with the choices I have made in the material items I have packed.
My hope is (as it is every time I prepare for a trip) that this time will be different. The reason I think it might actually be true is that Catherine Rose, the PhD student that I am working with, e-mailed me an extensive list of items I should bring. Right at the get go, I am more like Dave than ever before. I looked at the list and was transported back in time to my life 10 years ago when Dave and I spent summers as wilderness rangers and winters as ski bums. The list of camping gear and field work essentials sends me into the basement to dust off our old North Face tent and test the batteries on my Maglite. Upon inspection, I headed to EMS and stocked up on Nikwax products in hopes of restoring life and rain resistance to my old gear. When at EMS, the sales lady asked me where I was headed. When I told her my plans to travel Down Under with my original gear, she looked skeptical and recommended that I test out the tent and make sure that the bungies in the poles were still good. "They can really wear out overtime." I smile and think to myself that the elastic rebound of my pole tethers is the least of my worries, but I add it to my mental list of to dos before next week - start packing and set up tent.
