The first time Nick and I went to Target I knew I had met quite the challenge. This man of mine spent 45 minutes picking out a single lightbulb.

OK, did you actually read that? 45 MINUTES!

I don’t know the last time I spent 45 minutes doing my hair more or less picking out a lightbulb. This is when I discovered one of the greatest, most frustrating, incredibly hilarious differences in Nick and I. He is researched, prepared, studied and certain to walk out of a store with the absolute best purchase and deal they offer. I on the other hand am spontaneous, instantly confident, and often end up returning things because I made a decision that was instantly gratifying.

-Clash of the Titans here-

Enter purchasing a suitcase.

My methodical man begins. He compares, measures, reads reviews and debates (a sum of 2 hours here) I tell him that I am confident in the incredibly durable REI, all terrain-vehicle suitcase fully equipped with a winch and back up set of wheels (ok I’m exaggerating but it may as well offer all of that) and urge him to just purchase it. But being the man he is means we make a trip to the nearest REI to see this bag in person. We practice wheeling it around the store, opening each zipper, holding it by all handles, measuring how much space there is for stuff (and by “we” I mean him, I was sold when I saw it online), ask the associate his review on the bag….to which he had none, not our best resource….debate whether we can fit both of our trip necessities in the bag, spend a little more time wheeling it around the store, checking the durability of the wheels (I’m starting to think we actually are buying a vehicle) and finally make our way to the register.

Don’t be fooled, the examination of the bag continues for days.

My man is nothing but thorough. 

Purchasing a bag is just the prelude to the thing that gives me great angst.

Packing….

I begin this adventure as I do all other adventures in my life, with a pep talk.

(look at yourself in that mirror)

“Jessica, you are a packing pro. You have traveled the world carrying 50lbs on your back, you have hiked the himalayas, you lived in Africa for goodness sake, you can do this. You can pack everything into 2 small packing cubes. You will survive, you will be thankful, you will do this. Remember you are a Pro.”

So I pack and pretend that this is my thing, that this is easy and I am a person of necessity and not desire, that I am minimalist.

And then some how I end up with all of this….(if you read my previous blog, here, you would understand how this happened)

I’m not going to lie to you, I thought I did AWESOME.

 Nick walks in, takes one look and shakes his head.

I am immediately aware of the extravagance of my packing. I look at his pile, see shirts neatly stacked, just enough to get him through a few days at a time (he actually counted his articles of clothing) and then back to my pile, enough to clothe an army and realize reassessing was necessary.

Oh but how to make such grueling decisions. I was facing an all out war internally. How to look perfectly fashionable, while also trying not to sweat my life away, mixing in there the need to wear ministry appropriate clothing.

Whew. I was beat. This is defeating. So I went from one pile to another.

Then spent another few hours making that pile smaller and smaller. Weeding out each item with a discussion and explanation of importance (remember I’m married to a methodical man).

And finally made it to this, the semi-final product…yes, yes, I know I still have too much stuff and the goal is to get everything in those stupid cubes but for the record it was 11:30pm at this point and I wanted to quit. (Many more things will be eliminated in the days to follow)

Sharing a bag with my man and packing for a 6 week trip has taught me a lot about marriage and travel.

1. I am not the minimalist I pretend to be.

2. Marriage means sacrifice

3. So does traveling the world and sharing 1 bag.

4. My methodical man is the greatest blessing.

5. The pep talk may help get me pumped to pack but does not, by no means, make me a Pro.

6. Never give up.

So with that I let Nick arrange the bag, in a masterful style (UPS packers you would be impressed) and walked away feeling both defeated and accomplished.

I am sure that the next few weeks should prove to be quite the adventure in packing as this becomes a daily routine in our lives.

Disclosure: Do not, by any means, expect me to give you good packing advice. My husband on the other hand would be a credible resource.