Tag: packing list

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Packing for Family Togetherness

We leave today for Tennessee. Rewind to the part back in June where we were all together when Dad died, and two of the kids didn’t make it in time to see him one last time. We were all too sad to enjoy the time we were spending, and one said, “Mom, can we wait until we’re a little happier and get a place together in the fall?”

I said yes. Fast forward to now, and here we are – packed and ready to go.

We’ve got the door code to the VRBO, and we’ve got a full tank of gas and 75% of the groceries we’ll need for 14 people for the week. We’re taking turns cooking dinners and we’ll forage for breakfast and lunch whenever we feel like getting up and shuffling to the kitchen unless someone feels like getting up and cooking big. With 6 of the 7 grandchildren and our 4 children and two of their spouses, we’ll spend time swimming in the indoor pool, watching movies in the home theater, and playing games in the game room. It will be good to be in a place to enjoy togetherness rather than trying to figure out where to go and what to do each day. A ride through Cade’s Cove and a picnic may be the most exciting thing on the list, and it’s about our speed. Slow.

And I’ll reveal the family theme, on t-shirts, sometime tomorrow evening. The kids left it to me, and I think we’ve got one that we’ll all enjoy as we hang out by the fire this week. Stay tuned for that!

We’re Packed…..

dominoes and cookie dough

puzzle mat and all of that

decks of cards, Scrabble, too

all the things we love to do

camera, phone, and PaperWhite

family shirts and pumpkin bites

groceries and snacks galore

there’s no way we could need more

all of us, a week together

snuggling in October weather

heading up to Tennessee

us and them and you and me

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What Did You Bring

This month, I’m writing posts from prompts in the Writing Down the Bones Card Deck by Natalie Goldberg, shared with me by my friend Barb Edler of Iowa. Today’s post inspires us to write about what we bring – in our purses, on a trip, to a party, in our suitcases, in our book bags or in our cars.

I’m reminded of our adventure book club that met at Barnstormer’s Restaurant in Williamson, Georgia the. month I couldn’t attend. You read that right. I’m reminded of a memory I don’t actually have. We’d recently finished reading a book entitled The Last Flight, where two women change identities to fly off to new lives but then one plane crashes. This inspired us to meet at our local small airport’s restaurant and actually bring a bag of only the five things we would take if we ever left and were limited in our departure possessions. They had to fit in a tote bag or small personal bag you’d carry when flying. We excluded cell phones, chargers, wallets with money/photos, and medications.

Only thing is, that’s when my father was in Hospice in his final hours and I was out of town – so I heard all about what happened at that book club meeting but was not able to attend. Today, this question for the prompt is timely. What would I bring?

5 Things I’d Bring

I’d bring the tiny obsidian dog

to remind me you knew my heart

I’d bring the silver pearl cross

to remind me you knew my faith

I’d bring the pumpkin bread recipe

to remind me you value tradition

I’d bring the bracelet with the cardinal

to remind me you know transcendending love

of motherhood

I’d bring the memories

to carry you in my heart forever