Becca Jane St Clair

…Or at least, one dresser drawer, as Sarah emptied a drawer for me to unpack into is that you wind up wanting something you don’t have, or forgetting you’re out of clothing until it’s the following morning and you go to get clothes to wear!

This morning I wasn’t feeling well. I woke up with a small cold, so all I wanted to do was to take a hot shower, change into my fleece pajamas, and go back to bed. Unfortunately, my fleece pajamas are back in PA, but I did have a pair of UM sweatpants….but they were in the laundry basket, since I wore them two days ago. I also discovered I only had one clean T-shirt in the drawer, and it was a slightly ratty one I packed for sleeping in. So, I wound up needing to do laundry this morning while I wasn’t feeling well just so I’d have something clean and comfortable to wear!

Packing to come here was hard. I didn’t want to over pack and need two suitcases, especially since I’d have access to a washer/dryer. I also had to consider the season change, and I still worry that with not packing a sweatshirt I’m going to get chilly in late September. Since I’m spending most of my day indoors, I wanted to pack plenty of comfortable/lounge clothes, also known as pajamas…but now that I’m here, I don’t think I packed enough!

I was so worried about getting here and not needing things I packed that I failed to think of the flip side — wanting something you forgot to pack. I really should have packed a second pair of shoes – all I have with me are my Crocs and a pair of slippers for around the house. Yesterday while walking outside I slipped and turned my ankle funny. Usually when I do that I want to wear a different pair of shoes…but I can’t here, unless I want to *buy* a pair over at Wal-Mart. I probably could have asked my mom to throw in my sneakers into the package she’s sending me, but she’s sending so much already, I really didn’t want to make it any heavier!

For my next trip, I’m going to have to really think about what I’m packing. I’ll be gone during the late fall/early winter, which means while I won’t need my winter coat when I leave, I’ll certainly need it when I come home! I still only want to pack into one suitcase, so it’s going to be interesting to see how I’m going to fit bulkier winter clothing into the same suitcase I just had all this stuff in. I also wanted to try to pack my bathrobe in case Tim’s house is drafty. I used to take my robe with me when I went to Ann Arbor to visit, but I also usually had the entire trunk of my car available for packing space! The airline I’m using for the UK trip (Air India) doesn’t seem to have any baggage limits, but I have to get myself all the way up to JFK on public transportation, and I really don’t want to be dealing with loads of bags on New Jersey Transit!

Anyway, my point is that I really wished I had given a bit more thought to packing before I came up here. I probably would have squeezed in at least one more pair of lounge pants/pajama pants and probably my sneakers as well. Too late now, just information to file away, and information that maybe will help someone in the future!