What to Take?

I'm sitting here on my bedroom floor surveying my stuff and looking at my suitcases. We have carry-ons, checked baggage, and a 200 lb air shipment. All of this has to hold us for at least two full months. We won't have our household goods until November at the earliest.

So, what to take?

What do you carry-on? Laptops, check. Jewelry and medicines you need daily, check. A change of clothes and all toiletries, check.

What do you put in the air shipment? How much IS 200 lbs? Thank goodness the movers do this all the time. They said they'd pack the boxes and put them on scales. They will only pack 200 lbs for the shipment. We can add and subtract until we get to the magic maximum. So, what will we need in the first two months that we don't want to pack in our bags, or carry in the carry-ons?

In the 200 lb shipment, I'm putting in a lot of over the counter medicines that we might need for a long stay in a hotel. I'm putting in a power converter/step down device that works up to 750 watts (whatever that means!) I'm also putting in all my manuscript pages that I haven't gotten around to final edits on. Too heavy to carry, but it will keep me busy in a hotel room for 8 hours a day...

When you don't know what social obligations will come up OR what the weather will be like, it sure is hard to pack. I know that we'll be coming back to the states for Thanksgiving, so I'll need some Fall clothing, but I might not need that in Tunis. Hard to say. It's going to be dependent on where we end up living... near the coast or inland. I'm hoping the weather is temperate. I'm taking a light jacket and some long pants, but not a lot of sweaters or layering clothes. Hey, I'm menopausal, I don't usually get cold anyway!

There is a lot to fret about. Will I have enough to keep me engaged? Will the hotel just close in on me? How will the internet speed be at the hotel? Wireless or wired? Should I carry network cable? There's just a lot to consider. And my mind is spinning with it.

Also, there is going to be a huge pile of stuff they will refuse to pack. I'm going to need to bundle that all up and give it to someone. It's just crazy making. Well, back to my chores. I'm just crossing things off my list and hoping for the best. When you pack for a big trip, you always forget something anyway...right?

--Sandee Wagner