A Cry for Help.

I should have learned on my last overseas trip, when my luggage was lost for days, that I truly need a fraction of the items currently in my suitcase. But, no, I have learned nothing.

A friend of mine, who has traveled extensively and once took only a carry-on-sized bag on a two-week trip to Morocco, has it down to a simple mathematical equation that makes perfect sense when added up. She spent a good half hour yesterday trying to get through to me. Outwardly, I nodded, I smiled, I agreed, but a willful voice inside made such a clamor of denial that I scarcely heard a word.

In my comfort zone, I have one fewer pairs of shoes packed than days I will be there. Also packed are four pairs of pants, three skirts, and three dresses. Plus, three cardigans, two swimsuits, and an assortment of tops ranging from sleeved to sleeveless. Oh, and five headscarves.

The only items I could be reasonable about—underwear, which I need exactly 9 pairs of—I haven’t even pulled from my drawer for deployment yet. (Note to self: there bodes a great potential that I will find myself well-ventilated for the warm desert air.)

Anyway, tonight I had a moment of clarity and, you know, just to see what would happen, I did an experiment: I cut the shoes by a third(ish), and everything else by half (except the aforementioned unmentionables, of course). It looks OK, except I feel a bit lightheaded right now...