RV Life Week 0: Packing for Worriers

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Will I need this?

I’ve asked myself a million times in the last few weeks. I know this because I have come to learn that I had a million things. Had a million things. Now I feel lighter.

Donate it.

Goodwill Industries now owns most of my worldly possessions.

What’s the worst that could happen?

… or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Road

dr-strangelove-bible-russian-phrase-book

The worst that could happen is pretty bad, but we’re risking becoming a statistic. Over 33,000 people died on the highway in 2012 according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. I’m not consciously aware of the risks of driving at speed down the open (read: open to any careless driver) road. Honestly I’ve worried more about forgetting a battery charger or DC adapter for my Macbook. These things are relatively easy to replace. The amount of worry is definitely disproportionate to the value of the item (or life).

I think my worst fear is not that I will all of a sudden remember something I forgot but that I’ll focus so much on the minutia of packing and organizing and using all the things. I want to be aware of my surroundings. I want to watch the country change as we cruise through counties and seasons. If I end this adventure with more regrets over the forgotten widget than memories of brand new experiences then my worst fear will be real.

Pro Tip: Pack things where you will look for them. Much like designing software, you can assume the user is drunk.

3 thoughts on “RV Life Week 0: Packing for Worriers”

  1. Just like in the film with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara (A Quiet Man) she says, in her Irish brogue, “How can I be happy when I’m still dreamin’ about the things [I’ve left behind] in my brother’s house…..” A newlywed to a man from a different culture, she explains to John Wayne that he must go retrieve her dowry…because there her memories lie…she’s attached to her grandmother’s china, her mother’s piano…the crib her grandfather’s grandfather carved out of a log himself….

    You’ll do fine! And better than that, I know. If I were you, I’d like to see the beauty of nature, wonder about why the roads and bridges lead there and where the old road was, and why the old town died when they moved the highway…and the people…it’s always the people!

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