The art of packing lightly

I am in Arizona.

I have never been in Arizona before but I got the opportunity to travel there with my husband on his business trip, during this, our first trip together with all the kids out of the house. It’s been a working vacation for me but hey, what a fun and wonderful way to work! And in January, a month unheard of for traveling (for us).

Beautiful bird on a sunny day in Scottsdale

As I packed for just myself, I couldn’t help but remember so clearly packing for all those summer vacations over the years for little kids. What a nightmare that was! The diapers, the car seats, the things to entertain them on the plane, the juice boxes, the snacks! Then taking care of them while trying to pack, clean the house and suck up the ankle-deep dog hair, and write out instructions for one of our sweet nephews who would come and stay to take care of our dog. Yeah. Nightmare.

This time it was easy. Until I learned that the temperature where we were staying (Scottsdale and Sedona) was going to vary anywhere from the 30’s at night to low 70’s during the day. Then I learned that my children stole (as in, “took to college and other places and never brought them back”) all of our suitcases except for the carry ons. (I did finally find one midsize case.)

I am fairly anal about packing but not when it comes to the possibility of being cold. So in went the undershirts, the polar fleece, the sweaters. The warm socks. The really warm socks. I wanted the slippers too but–hey, no room. The thermal pants. The ear muffs. The flannel pjs.

Men, on the other hand, have it so easy. A razor, some various black things, a pair of tennis shoes and the ONE good pair of shoes. (Oh, to be a man.) My hubby was done packing in five minutes. The only toiletry he took is shave cream (clearly planing to steal the rest from me).

Stuffed to the Gills

I finally fit everything in the suitcase, and here it is, the final product, a la nuclear explosion.

In the old days, I used to tuck different books in different nooks and crannies, never certain of which book I would want to read. (One? Only one?)

See that little yellowish-green thing in the middle there? That is my kindle. Hundreds of books at my disposal in one little thin package. Now that’s packing light. If only I could compress the rest so easily.

Oh, and that irritatingly light-packing hubby of mine? He offered to let me stash my ankle boots and another pair of shoes in his case. God love that man.