Trust But Verify and Other Travel Tips
"Trust but Verify" -President Ronald Reagan, regarding the Russians during Cold War
Dear WTMs,
President Reagan is known for making that quote about the USSR during the Cold War. Sure, he trusted the "Commies" but he liked to "verify". Doesn't matter if you loved Reagan, thought he was the devil or somewhere in the middle. This philosophy comes in very handy as a mother.
This philosophy is especially relevant in my life as I packed for on a short weekend trip with "the girls". The girls and I are visiting one of my best friends and her family this weekend. I am taking a short "blog break" right now and relaxing. But I just had to share the pre-trip packing experience, preparing for this quick trip, as it will hit close to home with you WTM readers.
My girls are 12 and 8. Older daughter gets more responsibilities and perks but I am letting them both do more things this summer that reflect my growing confidence in their maturity.
I trust them but I verify.
For example-My 8 year old wants to pack her own suitcase. Fine. She was passionate about her mother not laying all her clothing out "like a baby". She is, in case I was unaware, going into THIRD GRADE. Practically college aged, right?
So I let her "pack". She goes to bed Thursday night. I check her duffel bag. I swear I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP. I was laughing as I figured it would probably be as "scary" as it was-----I had a stash of her stuff in my bedroom ready to pack----but I let her do it, just so I could say that I did.
Contents of her bag for a 4 day weekend (after several talks about what to bring and a pile of clothing laid out for her):
- A walkie talkie
- American girl doll clothing (Two sets with NO American Girl doll being taken)
- Gum
- Two very old VHS tapes of Kid Movies
- Two pairs of flip flops
- A purse from my sister
- Pictures she drew (sweet)
- Books
- PJs
- Underwear
posted by queen of wt at 7/22/2006 05:49:00 PM
11 Comments:
My 7 year old thinks it is perfectly acceptable to take a lot of stuffed animals on an overnight trip, so I totally understand the leel of thinking on this one!
Oops, my son hit the keyboard just before I sent that-- the word leel should read LEVEL....see what happens when kids are around!
absolutely!! I love that she packed the american girl clothes.. haha!
Hey, at least she remembered underwear!
My mama let me pack my own suitcase for a weekend trip one time, and didn't check behind me. It was full of toys and stuffed animals! She about died! Had to buy me some underwear and clothes after we got there.
my daughter did that one (she is now almost 8) and she packed no pjs or underwear. i should mention she is a nudist who hates clothing so i wasnt overly suprised but still.
You brave, crazy woman. I would never let my 10 yr old son pack his own bag for a weekend trip. Not that he'd want to... that would require putting down the game controller!
Yup, sounds like my 5 yr old. For her birthday last February 28th we were going to an indoor water park, she started packing mid January. In her duffel bag I found the same as you. Gum, 2 towels (one for her and her 1 year old sister), teddy bears, jewelry, and a pillow.
Now I'm curious... I was going to pack for my 11 y/o's upcoming solo trip to visit relatives, but now I think I'll let him pack... just to see. With verification of course!
heeheee. So she's a light packer. That's not ALL bad. :-)
Too cute! Love it -
Post a Comment
<< Home