It's In The Bag

The plan was to spend the weekend at my home so I had the girls pack their own bags for the trip over. They only had to put in a couple changes of clothes, pajamas, and something for church. This was surely something 6 & 10 year olds could handle. Since I didn't want any surprises, I told them I would check their bags before we left.

Em, the 10 year old, did pretty well. She had everything she needed except a pair of pajamas, but she has been doing this for awhile. Abs, the 6 year old, did her usual off-the-wall extravaganza. I could barely lift her suitcase it was so heavy. I opened one zippered compartment and found her pajamas. We were off to a good start. Then I noticed a purple box stuffed in the middle of the nightclothes.
"What is this?" I asked.
"That's my money," she answered.
"Why do you need money?"
"I just never know when I might want to buy something," she said.
I assured her we would not be going anywhere to shop and she could leave that box at home.

I opened the largest zippered compartment. It was filled to the brim with stuffed animals.
"What are all these for?" I asked.
"I have to have all those so I can fall asleep." she answered with great seriousness.
I told her she could choose ONE animal. She chose a giraffe, the largest of the lot.

Another zippered compartment held , not one, not two, not three, but EIGHT bathing suits!
"What are these for?" I asked, barely suppressing my laughter.
"I might want to go swimming," she said.
"We don't have a pool," I said.
"Maybe we could play in the sprinkler?" she asked hopefully.
"It's winter," I reminded her. None of the swimsuits made the cut.

"Don't you have any clothes for the weekend?" I asked.
She directed me to a small side compartment that was stuffed with shorts and shirts. At least she would have something to wear, even if it was wrinkled.

Abs comes by her packing traits honestly. Her mother, my DD#2, had been packing her own bags for camp since she was quite young. As a newlywed, traveling with her DH to his new deployment in Germany, she had one carry-on bag which she kept close to her at all times. When she went to the Loo, she entrusted it to me and told me not to set it down anywhere. I began to really wonder what she was guarding so closely.
"What does a new bride carry with her on a trip like this?" I asked.
"What would you think?" she asked in return.
"Nightgown, make-up, a change of clothes? Nothing that would require such close observation," I answered.
"No, none of that," she said. "I have the important things. Things I might need and would not want to lose."
Now my interest was really piqued. What was she carrying?
She opened the small case and revealed her treasures - her pillow and wedding photos. I guess the ads are right.....for everything else, there is Master Card.