Excess Baggage

Days away. Christmas is just days away and in true Shinkins style, I am last minute riddled.
Husband and I are taking our show on the road this year. Christmas will be spent with his family in Boston. Then it’s onwards to Ireland to spend New Years with my family.

We’re not actually flying up to Bean Town until Christmas Eve, so right now our plan of attack is to finish getting all the gifts for his family, then worry about my family after Christmas. That and we really don’t fancy lugging suitcases full of gifts from one continent to another. Especially me. I am a serial over packer. I have never, ever learned to travel light. Which is weird, cos I travel a lot. But I’m forever bringing stuff “just in case”. For example, I better bring 3 pairs of jeans, 1. casual pair, 2.skinny, fancy going out jeans and 3. comfy travel type jeans. Honestly I would bring more but I really try to limit it to 3. Then there’s the shoes and boots. They really need a bag all to themselves there’s just so many. I have to have the ankle boots with the perfect rounded toe for my casual jeans. Then the knee-highs, its winter, I need my knee-highs, in both black and tan and lastly my Ugg type boots. Perfect for traipsing around a mall or city, basically whatever will require me to be on my feet for long periods outside in the elements. Then I may throw in a token dress, just in case husband and I end up getting a last minute invite to something that requires me to wear a dress. But I also must pack a second option, just in case its too cold or the event is too fancy for casual, but not fancy enough for a dress. So this is how my brain operates when faced with the packing.

Obviously, I will end up over my weight limit when I check in and it’s for that reason I need to choose the person I check in with very carefully. Experience has shown, at least MY experience has shown, that the male check in persons have always been more inclined to turn a blind eye to the odd 10 lb over the limit than the female persons. The men will listen to the sob story and take pity. The women will sit there stone faced, lips pursed tightly together and mouth raised a bit in one corner, waiting for me to get to the end of my lies and pleading and then say “that’ll be $75 mam, have a nice flight”. Bitch. Wait till she needs something from me one day.

So that’s where we’re at, stress all round. Last minute gifts and packing panic. I just want Christmas to be here already so the build up just ends and it’s too late. What ever we have is what we have. Then I can sleep for a few days and get ready to do it all again in Ireland!