Packing

We’re going to Branson, MO, on Sunday for a week long family get-together. I am surprising myself in that I have already begun the process of doing laundry and packing.  My older three boys (ages 9,10,11) are responsible for packing their own clothes…this time, I actually gave them a written list of things they needed to pack instead of just spouting it out at them…2 jeans, 2 long sleeve shirts, etc. A few years ago when I had them pack their own things, my oldest son did not follow my verbal instructions and ended up with a sweatshirt and a pair of shorts. He already has his duffel bag packed for our trip to Branson; I have not checked it, and I probably won’t, if he ends up with a sweatshirt and a pair of shorts, well, I hope they’re the ones he likes….My 2 little ones (ages 5 and 3) also packed their backpacks. In addition to a few toys and stuffed animals, Julia packed 12 pair of panties. Other than having more underwear than she could possibly wear, she and Jeremiah packed surprisingly well, and they didn’t have the written list which wouldn’t have helped since neither one can read.

I managed to do 5 loads of laundry today. I usually start laundry the day before we leave. I figure I’m 2 days ahead of schedule. The packing up and leaving has always been an interesting marital issue…Jeff and I always intend to pack the night before and get an early start, but this never happens. We are usually both so irritated by the time we pull out of the driveway that we would just as soon stay home.  We told the boys that we are getting an early start this Sunday morning, and Jesse who’s been around a little longer than the rest said, “That’s what you always say.” And he’s right. When I say early start, I mean 8ish. For my parents, an early start means 3 in the morning, so that they can get wherever they are going by 10 am; then my dad  sleeps for the rest of the day out of sheer exhaustion…for some reason this makes sense to him… 

A couple summers ago, my sister and I decided we were going to bring our own food to the beach…like they don’t have grocery stores in NC. My sister had her entire car top carrier full of various food items, which was unpacked by my brother-in-law and then repacked by my brother-in-law at the end of the week when we did not eat half of what she brought. I also packed food in the car, which made Jeff crazy, since I had no room for my feet, and food kept sliding under the gas pedal while he was driving.  This time, I told Jeff that I was taking a few snacks for the trip, but I’m sure he will check to make sure I’m not sneaking canned goods out of my kitchen cabinets and into the van.

Jeff actually said that he wanted to leave for Branson around 7 am on Sunday. This is really a stretch for us. On Sundays, we are not even out of the bed by 7, much less packed and ready to go with 5 kids on an 8 hour trip. I think the bar’s been set a little high. Jeff also said he wanted to pack the van the night before, so we could just walk out the door…

In all these years, you’d think I would have the packing thing down, but I do not. I’m working at it this time and hoping for the best, and maybe we’ll get there by dinnertime…