Baggage

See... When the airline tells me I need to keep the weight of my baggage under 50 pounds, I'm like, No problem! Oh, wait...

One person totally needs all this for one week...

Obviously, I'll need to do a bit of lot of streamlining, but I am planning to take the majority of this crap with me to Mexico. When I was laying everything out on my bed at my apartment, I was thinking, I will absolutely wear 2 different pairs of high heels. How can I not bring every cami I've ever owned? I will not be able to travel without 6 pairs of jeans. Completely rational, of course. It's been a running joke in our family for as long as I can remember that my suitcase is always the largest, the heaviest, the most awkward, and full of the least useful items.

When we flew to Key West in May of 2011, the weight limit for each suitcase was 50 pounds. Mine -- 52.5 pounds. I had to unzip my suitcase, expose my undergarments to the world, and take out one pair of shoes at a time -- and transfer them to my father's golf bag -- until my suitcase was an acceptable weight. Needless to say, my sister Caroline has given me endless grief about it.

Our family has one of the largest duffel bags I've ever seen, which is what got me into trouble flying to Key West, and which is what I plan to travel with on this trip. It fits anything I could possibly imagine, and it allows me to pack comfortably (with options) for a week or more. That's the burden and the blessing. Trying to cram two weeks' worth of clothes and shoes (that I don't need) into a duffel bag got me to thinking about a conversation Ian and I had Thursday night.

We had been experiencing a communication disconnect for a bit, which is frustrating in that it feels like neither party is able to send or receive an understandable message. After we had a very fulfilling conversation, I felt physically relieved. I felt as though all of the weight I had been carrying around needlessly was suddenly lifted. I think I could probably achieve that same feeling if I lightened the load I'm traveling around with all the time, both physically and emotionally.

However... It looks as though I'm still carrying the max amount of weight to Mexico! Some things never change, huh?

It also helps me to relieve stress by running it out.

My 5K training program has been a source of stability and routine in my life.

I never knew I could experience the thrill of a runner's high until today -- every time I run a PDR, I get overly excited. Today's was my longest run yet, at 2.66 miles in 35 minutes. I ran at a slower pace than I normally do, because I'm not used to the fancy-shmancy treadmills at the Y. I felt like I was walking on a cloud as I left the gym :)

P.S. Enjoy your weekend! My blog will probably be a little sparse for the next week, but I feel sure I'll have plenty to write about post-Mexico!