So as I mentioned previously, we are heading to a family reunion a couple states away.
Eight hours of driving with two teens. #Iknowyouwishyoucouldbeme

In preparation for this event, I told the kids they were now old enough to pack their own suitcases. They are both teens now, afterall.
It shouldn’t be hard…
2 days in a car=traveling clothes a.k.a. comfy clothes
2 days around other people who haven’t seen us in 5 years = please dress in something that won’t embarrass me and/or show your underwear.

I shared articles I found online giving directions on How to pack a suitcase so the clothes don’t get wrinkled (you can click on that link.. there’s a video),

checklists to make sure you don’t forget anything,

all those great pieces of information to help my children be responsible in this task.

The girlchild, just like her mother, has been thinking on these things for quite a few days now.
She’s made a list of all the things she needs to bring: makeup, toiletries, swimwear, 12 pairs of shoes, half her closet… #momweneedtodolaundrynow!......you get the drift.

The boychild, however, has not even begun to think about what will be going in his suitcase, let alone if it’s even clean.
I can foresee how his packing will occur:
1. Pick up t-shirt, sniff to make sure it’s clean, wad it up and put it in the suitcase.
2. Rummage around for a pair of shorts, again sniffing to make sure they are clean, because of course they were not put in the dresser when they were folded by his loving mother and brought to him fresh from the dryer. Oh no.. they laid around on an end table, or were pulled down to the floor for the dog to make a bed on. That’s how things happen in that room.
3. Remember what Mom said about not embarrassing her, so repeat steps 1 and 2 to find an additional set of clothes.
4. Throw in a pair of underwear, a pair of socks, and his swimsuit (after the girlchild reminds him of the pool at the motel of course).
5. Put suitcase in the car, only to take it out again as Mom questions him about such items as his toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant. #ohyehIforgot
6. Add another, bigger, bag to the trunk holding video games, the Xbox, and headset b/c “the motel will a tv, Mom!” #sheesh

At least he knows to get his stuff in the car before the girlchild (and their mother) start trying to load up their dozen bags between them.
#cuzyouneverknowwhatyouaregonnawanttowear

somemighthavetogoontheroof

So if you see a small SUV driving along I-40 through Tennessee over the weekend that looks a little like this,

please be patient with it… cuz Mama can’t see out the back and is trying to follow the GPS’ directions, the girlchild will be pouting because she couldn’t fit in “that one thing she really needed”, and the boychild will be mad because that one thing he wanted to look at will be in the bag at the bottom of the pile!