Fall is finally here and that means it’s vacation season for many of us. It’s the perfect time to travel because all the families with kids are back at home and, depending on where you go, it can cost less.
I have a couple of trips upcoming where I need a larger bag – something I can just check at the airport and pray makes it to my destination on the same day I do.
Unfortunately, I have traveled with just a strategically planned carry-on bag for so long I didn’t have a larger bag. The search for just the right suitcase has been on for a while now.
I had a checklist of requirements. It has to have spinner wheels and it can’t be too heavy. For that matter, it can’t be too big either. I’m traveling for a few days, not looking to smuggle a body through the airport. It couldn’t be black because, first of all, how unimaginative and second of all, have you seen the sea of black bags in any airport?
I searched online. I dragged my poor fella into stores. I dragged myself into stores alone so I could stand before a wall of exactly the wrong suitcases and agonize over why the world never seems to make exactly what I need..
And then last Friday night I found myself in Marshall’s admiring a suitcase the likes of which I had never seen. It met all the requirements and had the spinniest of spinner wheels. I really liked it but couldn’t decide if it was fabulously quirky or maybe a little tacky.
It’s a fine line sometimes.
I left it on the shelf and walked away until a few minutes later when I saw some guy man handling MY suitcase!
The nerve!
When he put it back on the shelf, I nabbed it, put it in my cart, and proceeded to torture myself with indecision for a good fifteen minutes. I finally put it back, worried that it might not hold up well.
Let’s stop here for a moment. Very few people know this about me but I have the attitude of a depression era farmer that every item I buy must last forever. I am disappointed every time I have to replace a skillet or pair of shoes because “they just don’t make things like they used to anymore.” As though I’m going to someday show up at the pearly gates with my forty year old egg skillet and a pristine suitcase in tow.
Yes, I am aware that I sound ridiculous. Just wait. It gets worse.
So I went home and immediately regretted the decision to leave it behind. And I woke up thinking about it on Saturday.
Why didn’t I just buy the darn thing and return it if I found something better?
That’s a great question.
I couldn’t find it online so, after a day of adventuring, I called Marshall’s and they did still have the suitcase. So my fella and I drove the forty minutes to retrieve the suitcase. Afterward, he asked what I wanted for supper and my answer was essentially “I don’t know but I’m wondering if I should have bought the carry-on size too.”
After all, I was never going to find it again. Long story short, this sweet guy volunteered to buy it for me. I’m still not sure if this generous offer was to give me something I really wanted or to buy himself some peace but I’m grateful either way.
Meet Thelma and Louise.
They will be easy to spot in the airport!
Tacky or cool? I’m still not sure but I think they’re me so it really doesn’t matter.
The moral of the story though is that I drove forty minutes one way to buy something I could have just bought and returned once I made up my mind. Also, I need to loosen my grip on this notion that things must last forever and just enjoy life once in a while!
I’ve completed another trip around the sun and am starting my 43rd year of life today. I contemplated doing some kind of snazzy post about 43 things I want to accomplish this year but that seems like a great way to be disappointed during a pandemic.
4. Working from home suits me. I like the quiet and find that I’m typically smarter, faster and better at my home desk than my office desk. The transition back into the office has been a challenge.