Packing For Two

I'm going out of town for a long weekend. We're leaving tonight and coming back Sunday afternoon. I've always been a light packer--I used to actually run out of things, but I've since learned to pack pretty much exactly what I need.

So, seeing as how I'm going straight to the airport from work tonight, I had to pack last night so I could bring everything with me to the office this morning. I started right when I got home from work; I went straight upstairs, pulled out a bag, picked out my clothes, folded carefully and arranged them in my bag. Grabbed some toiletries and shoes and that was it. Done in about 15 minutes. It would appear that I would actually have time to go with my husband to drop our dogs off at two different locations. But, alas, looks can be deceiving.

My title is "Packing For Two." Did I have to pack for my husband? No--he'll do it himself about 10 minutes before he leaves for the airport. The other person I had to pack for was my diabetic self. Ugh.

I actually made a packing checklist that I keep on my computer. Anytime I go on vacation, I print it out so I don't forget anything. Extra lancets? Check. Extra test strips? Check. Prescriptions #1-5? Check. Insulin? Check. Alcohol swabs? Check. Syringes? Check. Letter from my doctor? Check. Glucose tabs? Check. All kinds of food in case of lows or I get stuck in an airport with no food stands (it's happened to me before)? Check. I literally have to bring an extra bag just to fit everything. And that makes me a two-bag traveller (both carry-on, of course), but I'd really rather only be a one-bag kind of person.

Of course, anyone I travel with loves that I can always be counted on for a handful of cashews, a granola bar, Wheat Thins or peanut butter crackers--I'm a regular vending machine that requires no coins. But it's no fun for me that I have to lug everything around, all the time, every trip, international or domestic, weekend or week-long.

The rest of it doesn't even bother me anymore--configuring the 24-hour Lantus shot (especially when travelling to a completely different time zone that's hours and hours different from ours) and where I'll have to do it (tonight, on the airplane, about halfway through our flight), how my sugars will be if I'm walking all day, how my sugars will be if I eat that specialty in another country and have no clue how to even go about carbing it, etc.--it's all second nature.

But the packing. That just irks the hell out of me. I'm one person. Can't I just pack for one?

As always, more to come...