Packing My Bag

We're taking a car trip tomorrow.

Not a long one - it's about 2.5 hours each way to my niece's birthday party in N.J. But that adds up to 5 hours in the car - and this time, I won't be driving.

5 hours with nothing to do but sit. The idea gives me goosebumps of excitement.

No, I'm not being sarcastic. I love a road trip. I'm putting together my Tote Bag full of things to do - just like I have since I was a little kid.

And to be totally honest, the contents of the Tote Bag have not changed much in the last 30 years or so.

There will be, of course, Stuff to Read.

This time, instead of a book, I have my new Nook, which contains 4 books I am currently reading. Namely, The Blue Orchard (our book club selection of the month), The Girl Who Played With Fire (follow-up to last month's book club selection), At Home (I never pass up new Bill Bryson), and Anne of Green Gables (reading aloud to Kyle). Four great books, all at once, and loads of time to read them. See why I have goosebumps?

But that's not all. I have Magazines. The new Backpacker, a Better Homes and Gardens Cookie Issue, and a Campmor catalog. Can't wait to dig into those, and make shopping lists and wish lists in my...

Notebooks. I'm never without at least one. There's something about a fresh notebook that I have always found exciting. The endless possibilities of ways to fill it, the satisfaction that comes from looking over the fruits of my (albeit mediocre) creative efforts, the occasional flash of brilliance I was able to capture before it was lost in the mind clutter... there's just nothing like a notebook. And I've packed my three favorites.

There's the gratitude journal in which I write anything that comes to mind for which I am thankful at any given moment,

...the organizer-type notebook where I write down menu plans, calendar items, to-do lists, Christmas lists, books I want to read, places I want to travel, movies I need to see, etc.,

...and my writer's notebook, where I jot down ideas, character sketches, and any other brainstormy things that come to mind for my story or blog.

I may or may not write in them, but it gives me peace to know they are there.

Last, but not least, the iPod, charged and loaded with good music, goes into the Tote Bag. Headphones make for peaceful car trips in our family, and my ears are no exception.

I will have 5 hours essentially to myself to listen to my own music, organize, read and write.

It's almost too good to believe.