Since we've been on standby to leave for Utah for more than a month, I have continually put off buying specific products like hair dye (I have an appointment scheduled for the day after our arrival), wax for my eyebrows and other fuzzy facial areas (yuck, sorry), and most recently, conditioner, thus I have morphed into an unruly, gray-haired, ponytail-bound mess simply because I'd rather go without for a day or two or thirty than tote more stuff than is absolutely necessary around an airport. If this sounds crazy to you, don't worry, it is. I realize the madness of this, but also cannot bring myself to buy these products when I'll likely leave them behind to waste for the sake of a lighter suitcase. Zero hour is rapidly approaching, though, so come Saturday night, I'll be a brand new and much better-looking woman!
On a different note (but still regarding my increasingly strange behavior), I've always been a planner and love to write lists so I can cross off every item, but over the past few years I've become totally obsessive about it. While preparing for our cross-country trek, I find myself making lists for everything: items to clean, items to leave in Michigan, items to pack in the diaper bag, items to load onto my flash drive. I've made so many lists that my kitchen table is completely covered in papers.
Even worse, however, is my desire to have every single item on said lists organized perfectly into their respective receptacles. I can't stand having anyone help me pack because I won't know where every single thing is. Moms can understand this fear, but I think that anyone who has not had to supervise one or more children in a confined space with other passengers present would find this to be absolutely ridiculous. I plan the placement of objects in the diaper bag down to the centimeter, carefully layering items in use-order, making sure diapers and wipes are arranged for perfect one-handed removal, crumbly snacks are enclosed in a zippered pocket, and DVDs are arranged in alphabetical order so I don't have to sort through the whole binder to find Monsters, Inc. when Karli pipes up with an ear-piercing wail.
I hope all of my madness results from experience gleaned from three years of child-filled airline trips gone amok, and not from some new found mental disorder. I'm just trying my best to avoid carrying anything that isn't absolutely necessary and having a total meltdown by one or more kids, or even worse, myself. I never imagined I'd be so psychotic regarding planning (I'm all for spontaneity) and accumulating, but having kids has definitely made me reconsider my habits!
