UNPACKING

You pack.  You feed the cat.  You set the thermostat.  You leave for the weekend.  Everything’s nice and orderly.  Then you come home.

Dreading unpacking, you think about chocolate.  But first you have to wash the Milky Ways.  They are in that plastic bag where you stashed your almost-finished milkshake. 

Is there a logical way to unpack?  Should you tackle the biggest suitcase first?  No, maybe it’s best to get all the little ones out of the way.  Nothing is going to be simple.  You’ve stuffed things into numerous cavities, and very few of those things belong in the same part of the house.  Maybe you should just cook supper now and unpack tomorrow.

 

You decide to organize everything into piles.  You open a suitcase in the bedroom only to find that most of the stuff belongs in the bathroom.  You open one in the bathroom and most of it belongs in the bedroom.  You pile the clean clothes into the laundry basket and hang up the dirty ones.  You get the darn suitcase empty and see pills scattered everywhere. 

After every suitcase is put away, the laundry is started, and supper is finished, you sit down to read and can’t find your book.  Eventually you find it in one of the pockets of one of the suitcases that you pull off the shelf - along with a bottle of shampoo, one earring, a notepad, and a handkerchief.

You fall asleep while reading your book and telling yourself the trip was worth it.