Packing Light

How much is too much?

As I was packing my large size suitcase for a five day flight to visit friends across the country, I noticed my husband had packed a duffel bag for himself. That’s it.

“Anything you need to pack that I can put in my suitcase?” I asked. “Nope,” he said. I stared at his bag, puzzled. How can he pack so little and I have so much?

I used to pack lighter. Now I need to tote at least two extra pairs of shoes because my feet will complain if I keep them swaddled in the same casing all day. For this trip, I will also need light clothes for warm daytime weather, and warm clothes for the evening. Lots of layers. May as well throw in a raincoat and umbrella. A sun hat, too. Two. Then, miscellaneous chargers, meds, a book, hair dryer, toiletries, slippers, lots of socks, jammies, swimsuit, undies, slippers… Plus I’m bringing gifts for our hosts.

Drawbacks in traveling light:

Thank goodness I read “The Danger in Traveling Light” in The New York Times. I didn’t feel so overloaded:

Years ago, I was a light traveler. I had toured Ireland with only a change of clothes and a school backpack. But as I aged, the inner Boy Scout in me gradually took over, and my suitcases grew burdened with things I would almost certainly never need. Who knows, there may be a pool nearby and I would be bereft without my swim goggles. I might actually need both black and brown shoes, right? This time I vowed to return to my roots. No extra stuff. I put on a suit, threw a lightweight backpack over my shoulder and headed for the plane.

What else could I possibly need, I thought, fighting off a hint of anxiety and a faint longing for my swim goggles.

Obviously, things didn’t go well for this traveler when a medical emergency involving blood occurred on his flight. He’s a doctor. I’ll spare you details, but the essay ends:

As the technicians loaded him up on the gurney, it dawned on me that my proud, newly revisited days of packing light were gone forever. And that a well-placed tampon in an emergency was way more useful on a flight than a pair of swim goggles.

by Jay Wellons, The New York Times, Nov. 16, 2019

Take all you think you’ll need

My typical packing problem is, on the occasions where I have decided I will travel light, dammit, I’ve always ended up missing something: “If only I’d brought that green sweater,” or “Why didn’t I bring that other pair of walking shoes?!” You know what happens then? I end up shopping.

Yet, so many times I ended up lugging clothes from home that I never wore.

So, which is the bigger inconvenience– too much or two little? For this trip, since we have to switch planes, we’re checking our luggage. So I’m going big. I have no inner Boy Scout to reckon with.

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Linda K. Sienkiewicz is the author of the award-winning novel In the Context of  Love, a story about one woman’s need to tell her truth without shame. Discovering who you want to be isn’t easy when you can’t leave the past behind.

2017 New Apple Book Awards Official Selection
2016 Sarton Women’s Fiction Finalist
2016 Eric Hoffer Book Award Finalist
2016 Readers’ Favorite Finalist
2016 USA Book News Best Book Finalist

“…at once a love story, a cautionary tale, and an inspirational journey.” ~ Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of National Book Award Finalist, American Salvage, and critically acclaimed Once Upon a River,and Mothers, Tell Your Daughters

“With tenderness, but without blinking, Linda K. Sienkiewicz turns her eye on the predator-prey savannah of the young and still somehow hopeful.” ~ Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of the #1 NY Times Bestseller, Deep End of the Ocean

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