Packing Woes

Packing is frustrating.

I could end right there with an “amen” and get head nods all the way in the back of the peanut gallery, but since this is a BLOG I guess I should bore you with the details.

I thought packing for a five- week summer ballet intensive was hard, but packing for a whole year is another story. I have heard the college student’s packing woes, and all the stress that went into the late night packing before they took the hour and a half road trip in a Suburban with the rest of their family to move into a tiny dorm room about the size of a walk in closet. Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad for them, I really do, but my packing problems are in a whole other category. Now you are about to hear my woes.

Imagine packing for a cross-country move to a northern state where you have to take enough clothes to satisfy both a dancer’s and a normal person’s closet (think: bulky coats and rain boots), bedding, towels, toiletries, pointe shoes (7 pairs baby and more on the way), and a bunch of kitchen gadgets and cookware that you received for graduation But here is the catch, it all has to fit into two suitcases and be under 100 lbs. SAY WHAT?!?!? Yep, that’s right. I am moving to Seattle, Washington in 4 days from my humble abode in Houston, Texas to be in the Professional Division at the Pacific Northwest Ballet. The problem is, is that I have to move all of this stuff by myself via a 4 ½ hour plane ride because my parents can’t go with me and a 39 hour road trip is not in my near future. And since I only have two arms and airline companies will charge you both of them for overweight bags, I have to have limits… very tight limits at that. Oh, and its not like my parents can make the small 2,346 mile trek every other weekend to drop off anything I forgot. As you can probably imagine, I am stressed to the max.

I guess I could be exaggerating a wee bit, since my awesome roommate, Alyssa, and her mom are flying up with me, but they are going to have enough bags to worry about as is. Plus I do get to ship up a box or two, but the postal service is still charging me my arm to do so. As you can tell, instead of cramming 25 sweaters into a space saving vacuum bag, I am complaining to you.

Will anyone be willing to pack for me?

Please?

I will love you forever...

and make you cookies.

See, doesn't this look like so much fun???