Do you, like me, have trouble packing?

We’re getting ready for a big family reunion get together. In an email, I asked if everyone had finished their packing yet. My nephew wrote:

No worries Carol…I’v got packing down to an art. Undies, shorts, jeans,
t-shirts and maybe something decent to wear to a restaurant.
Everything a guy needs to kill the devil…

I replied: 

I wish it was that easy for me.

How hot will it be for my morning walk? Can
I wear something sleeveless to help get rid of my farmer’s tan or will it be
too cool with the wind off the ocean in the morning for sleeveless? Will the
wind be off the ocean in the morning? Let’s see, the land heats up, the air
rises, the air over the cool water fills the space creating a convention
current. OK, there probably will be wind from the ocean to the land in the
morning, but when does it start? The land has to be pretty hot for the
convention current to start. When will that be? Before or after my walk?
What if the land is so cool overnight that the wind is going from the land
to the ocean in the morning.

Wait a minute, it’s August and the water should be pretty warm. Does it matter which way the wind is blowing? No, it only matters if there will be a wind especially if there’s mosquitoes. How bad will the mosquitoes be in the morning during my walk?

Best to walk after the convention current starts (back to When will it start? to decide whether or not to use insect repellent and therefore what clothes to wear that it
doesn’t matter if they get sprayed.) I guess I need sleeveless just in case
the convention current has started, tops with sleeves if it’s cooler than I
expected.

What do I have in the shorts, capris and pants department that
will complement the tops I’ve chosen to bring? For mid-day, because it will
be hot, will I just spend all of my time in the house or indoors and
therefore have no need of shorter shorts. Do I dare to wear shorter shorts?
Do I have any that aren’t the ones I wear for cleaning the house? But, if I
wear the longer shorts–that just makes my farmer’s tan worse!

What will the
other women be wearing? Smart casual, sloppy casual–I think not, totally
relaxed casual–a bit of both probably. Wow, it looks like most of my
clothes are mainly in the blue color range. I really need to brighten things
up with some red and pink. How about some yellow? Oh, I have a yellow sun
hat.

But will it fit in my suitcase. Oh, it doesn’t matter, I’m not flying.
But, will the sunhat get crushed when John loads the suitcases in the trunk? I need to make sure I put the sunhat in the car before he starts loading the
trunk.

Would a dress be too dressy for the restaurant or is everyone just
going casual? What do I have that is casual but a bit dressy for the
restaurant? If I wear the dress, will I be too cold in the restaurant if the
air conditioning is too cold? Have I remembered a long-sleeved fleece just
in case the air conditioning in the restaurant is too cold? Maybe a fleece
is overkill unless the restaurant is really cold. I should bring a lighter
long-sleeved shirt too. etc. etc. etc. Will I have room in the car if I
bring all this stuff? What can I weed out.

I should try your system: “Undies, shorts, jeans, t-shirts and maybe
something decent to wear to a restaurant.” Scary! I might forget something!

Copyright 2008 Carol Chapman