So much has been said on "the facebook" about what my fellow teachers will and will not carry with them as they travel to the UAE. As I read through those bits and pieces of home that we strive to fit into the limited baggage we are allowed a few things come to mind.
The first is the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. We too carry the tangible and the intangible with us. Some of deciding to take pets because of how much they mean to us, our children really. Or the pictures of things to remind us of home when all we see is sand and sun and maybe camels. I plan to bring the boulder people (a collection of rocks from the shores of Lake Superior {ask K about the boulder people}). A bottle of shells from the MANY trips to the beach. I am still debating on whether or not to add the fish bowl and the frog box, we are trying for the minimalist here.
But the it is the intangible that makes a mark that others may only sense when we read the posts and talk of the unknown future. The guilt of leaving the beloved pet behind, knowing that the goodbye may be the last one. The heartache of missing myriad family functions and milestones. The elation of finally being free to travel to places once thought beyond our grasp. The worry of the possibilities of what may be when we get there. I too have some of this in my baggage, more than I let on but it is there.
So we sort and we pack and we decide what is essential and what is discard-able. I think of the numerous times I have packed and moved and the enormous need to keep all of what I have because in some ways it defined me. Looking back I think it was fear of the unknown that kept me with my stuff. As I purge the belongings I have, I realize the stuff is just stuff. My memories, my friends, my family, they are what is important.
The first is the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. We too carry the tangible and the intangible with us. Some of deciding to take pets because of how much they mean to us, our children really. Or the pictures of things to remind us of home when all we see is sand and sun and maybe camels. I plan to bring the boulder people (a collection of rocks from the shores of Lake Superior {ask K about the boulder people}). A bottle of shells from the MANY trips to the beach. I am still debating on whether or not to add the fish bowl and the frog box, we are trying for the minimalist here.
But the it is the intangible that makes a mark that others may only sense when we read the posts and talk of the unknown future. The guilt of leaving the beloved pet behind, knowing that the goodbye may be the last one. The heartache of missing myriad family functions and milestones. The elation of finally being free to travel to places once thought beyond our grasp. The worry of the possibilities of what may be when we get there. I too have some of this in my baggage, more than I let on but it is there.
So we sort and we pack and we decide what is essential and what is discard-able. I think of the numerous times I have packed and moved and the enormous need to keep all of what I have because in some ways it defined me. Looking back I think it was fear of the unknown that kept me with my stuff. As I purge the belongings I have, I realize the stuff is just stuff. My memories, my friends, my family, they are what is important.
Are the boulder people like Paul Irving's rock people in Anne of Green Gables?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I hadn't thought of the psychological luggage. Thanks for the thoughtful post.
Sort of, Mimi. It was silly "pillow talk" on the beach when my hubby and I were young and in love; they have been with us ever since.
ReplyDeleteIt has been hard to determine what to get rid off and what to keep. I like your comment about our items defining us.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully expressed. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete