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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