Packing is a "bad word" to me. The very thought of it sends me into an anxiety frenzy. Immediately my mind starts playing tricks on me. It "tells" me that I should pack like the girls in the movies do: brown leather Louis Vuitton luggage wheeled out to the convertible, high heels and a flirty sundress, headband and glasses, glittering cell phone in hand as I dial up my girlfriends for our rendezvous at the Hamptons. Once there we all squeal with delight at our luck at landing the perfect "summer home" and we strategically plan our nights.
After that reel is finished playing I am faced with the sad reality that my life is not a movie (though it would make a good one) and I fear I would need a passport just to travel as far as the Hamptons (since it may as well be a foreign country to me). No--my "get-away" is not quite that simple...or fashionable.
It takes me about three days to even prepare myself to actually pack the bags...(notice the plural). I mentally chant: "Pack Light...Pack Light...Pack Light" even though I know, deep down, that I am about as likely to pack light as I am to visit the Hamptons.
Tomorrow I leave for a five day vacation in Port Aransas with my husband, our two kids, my parents, my sister, her husband, and their two sons. I have been to the coast before...I wore the same shorts and t-shirt every single day...and when I wasn't wearing them I was wearing my bathing suit and its cover up. That is IT. A pair of flip flops, a suit, a cover-up and 1 outfit. So WHY must I even consider bringing EVERYTHING I've NEVER WORN with me...just in case???
What is it with packing???!!! I have been in my bedroom trying on clothes like I was at a 75% off clearance sale. I think...hey...if one cover up is good why not bring along 3 more? I mean...that way I'll have "variety" while I'm on vacation. WHAT?! It's the friggin coast for crying out loud! The place where there is tar on the beach, salt in the water, wind in the air, stickiness EVERYWHERE, and drunk people all around you. Why must I insist on trying to "look like I am on vacation in the Hamptons?!"
I suppose it has something to do with this "ideal getaway" image I have in my mind. The image that has me sitting on one of those Adirondack chairs in white sand...with my gold bracelet sliding up and down my arm as I reach for and then sip from my umbrella drink. I have a wide brimmed straw hat that peppers my stomach (my tan, flat, toned stomach) with tiny sun dots as they filter through the holes in my hat while I read page after page of my juicy summer novel. My hair has a beautiful honey caramel color to it and it has a come-hither curl to it. My just-the-right-size-sunglasses add to the mystery of "who is that unbelievably sexy woman on the beach?" My children "frolic" in the waves and look adorable in their designer swimwear. They even toss a beach ball and play "sand castle" near our cabana. My husband, of course, has those white pants that expose his ankles (he's barefoot) and are just the right kind of "baggy"...no shirt required. When it is time to go I pedal away on my bicycle complete with wicker basket and return to our condo for some lobster and wine. The nanny attends to "the children" and my hubby and I attend to each other.
Cut to "Real Life"---I am packing three sundresses from WalMart (not flirty by all means...elastic portion under boobs...not too short...not too long...not just right...but hey...it's as close as I could get). I have thrown in a pair of shorts for good measure though my measurements are not exactly short worthy these days. Had to pack a jacket...just in case... Had to bring some yoga pants and a long sleeved T...you know...for when it gets "cold" in the hotel room. Thought I better bring multiple tanks to go underneath the pjs...(variety is the spice of life). Decided to only bring 4 pair of shoes plus some "water shoes." Then there are the hats...one that I can wear when I am out and about and one that can get wet (whatever!).
What if it rains? What if it doesn't? What if we eat out? What if we don't? What if...what if...what if...??? OMG! Enough already!!! Don't even get me started on the packing of the towels, the skim boards, the life vests, the fishing poles, the tackle boxes, the goggles, and the sunscreen (oh the sunscreen)!! I want a tan, my daughter has sensitive skin, my son needs general protection, and my husband does not really care. So much for one size fits all.
Did I mention that I don't even like the coast? That's right everybody...I am going through all of this trouble just so that I can sweat, pick sand out of my "creases", put up with toddlers, (did I mention I am bringing my dog?), defy the sun, and avoid sharks? But, despite all of that, my kids are so darn excited that I wouldn't dream of not going. My dad is even more excited--and that means the world to me. I am so glad that we can all be together for a few days. Somehow that makes it all worth it!
Until I return I'll be writing about my "experience" in my notebook...in a folding chair... without a back...beneath a tarp...(I'll type it all up after I return to the cond...uh...RV park via the back of my dad's pick up truck). Hey...a girl can dream can't she?
After that reel is finished playing I am faced with the sad reality that my life is not a movie (though it would make a good one) and I fear I would need a passport just to travel as far as the Hamptons (since it may as well be a foreign country to me). No--my "get-away" is not quite that simple...or fashionable.
It takes me about three days to even prepare myself to actually pack the bags...(notice the plural). I mentally chant: "Pack Light...Pack Light...Pack Light" even though I know, deep down, that I am about as likely to pack light as I am to visit the Hamptons.
Tomorrow I leave for a five day vacation in Port Aransas with my husband, our two kids, my parents, my sister, her husband, and their two sons. I have been to the coast before...I wore the same shorts and t-shirt every single day...and when I wasn't wearing them I was wearing my bathing suit and its cover up. That is IT. A pair of flip flops, a suit, a cover-up and 1 outfit. So WHY must I even consider bringing EVERYTHING I've NEVER WORN with me...just in case???
What is it with packing???!!! I have been in my bedroom trying on clothes like I was at a 75% off clearance sale. I think...hey...if one cover up is good why not bring along 3 more? I mean...that way I'll have "variety" while I'm on vacation. WHAT?! It's the friggin coast for crying out loud! The place where there is tar on the beach, salt in the water, wind in the air, stickiness EVERYWHERE, and drunk people all around you. Why must I insist on trying to "look like I am on vacation in the Hamptons?!"
I suppose it has something to do with this "ideal getaway" image I have in my mind. The image that has me sitting on one of those Adirondack chairs in white sand...with my gold bracelet sliding up and down my arm as I reach for and then sip from my umbrella drink. I have a wide brimmed straw hat that peppers my stomach (my tan, flat, toned stomach) with tiny sun dots as they filter through the holes in my hat while I read page after page of my juicy summer novel. My hair has a beautiful honey caramel color to it and it has a come-hither curl to it. My just-the-right-size-sunglasses add to the mystery of "who is that unbelievably sexy woman on the beach?" My children "frolic" in the waves and look adorable in their designer swimwear. They even toss a beach ball and play "sand castle" near our cabana. My husband, of course, has those white pants that expose his ankles (he's barefoot) and are just the right kind of "baggy"...no shirt required. When it is time to go I pedal away on my bicycle complete with wicker basket and return to our condo for some lobster and wine. The nanny attends to "the children" and my hubby and I attend to each other.
Cut to "Real Life"---I am packing three sundresses from WalMart (not flirty by all means...elastic portion under boobs...not too short...not too long...not just right...but hey...it's as close as I could get). I have thrown in a pair of shorts for good measure though my measurements are not exactly short worthy these days. Had to pack a jacket...just in case... Had to bring some yoga pants and a long sleeved T...you know...for when it gets "cold" in the hotel room. Thought I better bring multiple tanks to go underneath the pjs...(variety is the spice of life). Decided to only bring 4 pair of shoes plus some "water shoes." Then there are the hats...one that I can wear when I am out and about and one that can get wet (whatever!).
What if it rains? What if it doesn't? What if we eat out? What if we don't? What if...what if...what if...??? OMG! Enough already!!! Don't even get me started on the packing of the towels, the skim boards, the life vests, the fishing poles, the tackle boxes, the goggles, and the sunscreen (oh the sunscreen)!! I want a tan, my daughter has sensitive skin, my son needs general protection, and my husband does not really care. So much for one size fits all.
Did I mention that I don't even like the coast? That's right everybody...I am going through all of this trouble just so that I can sweat, pick sand out of my "creases", put up with toddlers, (did I mention I am bringing my dog?), defy the sun, and avoid sharks? But, despite all of that, my kids are so darn excited that I wouldn't dream of not going. My dad is even more excited--and that means the world to me. I am so glad that we can all be together for a few days. Somehow that makes it all worth it!
Until I return I'll be writing about my "experience" in my notebook...in a folding chair... without a back...beneath a tarp...(I'll type it all up after I return to the cond...uh...RV park via the back of my dad's pick up truck). Hey...a girl can dream can't she?
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