PERFECTLY PACKED

My husband Steven and I had just gotten home from a four day vacation. As we were wheeling our suitcases up the front sidewalk our son Alex was at the door to welcome us home.

“How was your trip?” He asked as I gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek in the doorway before pulling my suitcase into the front hallway.

“We had the best time!” I said as I looked at Steven as he came into the house to see if he agreed.

Steven was nodding his head as he went to give Alex a hug and kiss. “It really was great.”

I began rolling my suitcase down the hall to our bedroom with Steven and Alex following me. “I can’t wait to unpack and relax on the couch!” I sighed as I put my suitcase up on my bed, unzipped it and pulled out a plastic bag filled with our dirty laundry. I took the bag, went over to the hamper and dumped it in. “Well, I’m done unpacking!”

I looked over at Steven as he pulled my makeup bag from his suitcase. “No you’re not.” He handed me the bag.

“I meant I was done unpacking the suitcase I brought in.”

“Well, you’re not done unpacking this one.” He handed me the book I’d been reading and the needlepoint piece I’d brought with me. “There’s plenty more to unpack in this one.”

I looked in his suitcase and saw several small bags with the different souvenirs we’d purchased. “Don’t you just love when you’ve perfectly packed for a trip?”

Alex was sitting on the edge of our bed. “What do you mean by perfectly packed?”

I pointed to Steven’s suitcase. “Not one item of clothing left in there. Everything we brought we used!”

Steven handed me an umbrella. “We didn’t use this.” He reminded me.

I took the umbrella and tossed it on the bed next to the other things that still needed to be put away. “But it did drizzle one day while we were there. So technically it counts as a needed item!”

I pulled my empty suitcase off the bed and put it by the door. “I just need to spray them with Lysol before you put them up in the attic.”

Steven put his now empty suitcase next to mine. “Okay. Just let me know when they’re ready.”

He went into our bathroom to put his toiletries away.

I sat next to Alex on the edge of the bed and began looking through the souvenir bags. “You know it really was a great trip.”

Alex looked over at me and began to laugh. “Are you still talking about your packing skills or are you going to tell me about the actual trip?”

“Hey!” I said as I gave him a small swat on his arm. “A perfectly packed suitcase is a skill some people never acquire.”

“Okay, congratulations on your packing skills.” He said as he rubbed his arm. “Now what did you do on the trip?”

“It was so much fun!” I cried and proceeded to tell him all about it.