Day 31

I am a terrible packer for trips.  First of all, I have a pathological need to use every item in my suitcase.  So, I tend to err to the side of caution. We are ALWAYS buying things I have forgotten like toothbrushes or kid’s bathing suits.  It is also a good bet that if you ever see me wearing an article of clothing with the name of a location printed on it, it is because I have packed inappropriately for the weather.  For instance I am the proud owner of an, I “Heart” Yosemite, tank top. My kids have t-shirts from Roswell, NM, with dancing aliens on them. I will occasionally try to sneak those shirts into the school rotation, but they are always discarded with disdain.   It is so bad that my husband runs through a checklist as we are leaving for any trip.

Him: Toothbrush?

Me: Check

Him: Underwear?

Me: Check

Him: ID?

Me: Check

Him: Phone Charger?

Me: Uh, can we turn around?

Since my husband is not here to apply his uber-organization to my life right now, I was destined to have some packing  issues on last weekend’s getaway.  My first snag was that I forgot reading material for the plane.  DRATS!  Here I was facing a kid-free seven hour travel day without a book.

Of course, I couldn’t march myself into the nearest airport bookseller; and I was desperate enough, that I began to scan all of the seating areas for a discarded magazine or newspaper.   I will admit that I was even glancing in trashcans which for some inexplicable reason were actually empty and clean on this particular day.  I’m surprised I didn’t get hauled in by homeland security for “suspicious behavior”.

After passing security, there in the distance was the USO which apparently is more than just an avenue for country singers and NFL players to tour the Middle East.   The USO “lifts the spirits of America’s troops and their families”.  Excellent, that pretty much described me.  If you have never been in an airport USO, I will just say this—It is staffed by the nicest group of volunteers whose average age is about 87 and they REALLY want to give you things to eat, like Twinkies and Coke, and pamphlets.  Well, the pamphlets aren’t to eat, but they have LOTS of them and they want you to have them. However, I don’t think they’d mind if you ate them and I suppose they are probably similar in nutritional value to Twinkies and Coke.

Compliments of the USO

But, for my purposes, the USO also has a shelf of used books and magazines that they let you have.  Not only do they let you have, but the staff is usually positively giddy that you want them.  I left with some pulp fiction and a magazine actually published in this calendar year.   It was perfect.

Of course, when I arrived, I realized I had also forgotten toothpaste, flip flops and had the very strange ratio of 1 top to every 3 bottoms.  But, fortunately I was meeting my family, all of which remembered toothpaste and several of which have the same size feet.