Watch Out! Crankiness Dead Ahead!

Tomorrow, I'll gather up the momumental amount of stuff we're bringing on vacation and pack it in the Honda Element.

Before then, I'll have helped Skip with all the usual "start the day" activities. Along with some vacation packing additions ...

Before she gets in the shower, we'll go through her closet to pick out the clothes she'll bring. She'll want to bring more pants and shirts than I want to pack. And then we'll go to the shoes. For someone who doesn't walk, she has an amazing number of shoes, and she'll want to bring more pairs than I want her to bring. (She has already mentioned the shoe selection process as something she wants to do sooner rather than later at least 3 times. I keep deferring it.)

Another pre-vacation ritual is my getting cranky. At some point in the preparations, I'll crank out. It really comes down to a fundamental difference in packing: what Skip wants to bring is greater than what I think is necessary for a vacation. And I don't want to pack it all, schlepp the bags to the destination, unpack them, repack the lot of it (including the clothes never worn during vacation!), etc.

Over the years, we've come to an accommodation. We agree to a set number of pants and shirts, based on the number of days of vacation. It's usually something like 1 pair of pants per vacation day and 1.2 shirts per vacation day. Believe it or not, this results in packing less clothes than if Skip brought everything she wanted!

The challenge on this trip will be getting Skip to recognize that our destination has a washer and dryer, so we can bring less clothes than if we were going to a hotel.

If we can get through the minefield of clothes packing, another possibility for crankiness is the sheer magnitude of things to bring. I think the straw that will break this camel's back will be the request that we bring our bedroom fan. It's big, heavy and awkwardly sized so won't be easy to pack efficiently in the car. We've already had a couple of skirmishes about the necessity of bringing it along. I know in my heart the only way to keep Skip from getting cranky herself on this item is just to pack it up. But I am not convinced it's necessary to have with us, so am continuing to put up some resistance. In the end, though, I know I'll find room for the fan along with the manual wheelchair, the shower chair, the foodstuffs, the dog beds and so on.

A successful pre-trip preparation will be one where I climb into the driver's seat of the car, ready to drive to Maine in happy spirits.

Wish us all luck tomorrow morning!