Packing Light

The Unstructured Vacation

Let the Unpacking Begin

A summer getaway is just around the corner, and the packing has begun. But this year, I’m changing it up. There won’t be any overthinking. I’ll be leaving most of the usual stuff behind.

No packing list. No triple-checking. Just the two of us, our dog, and some coffee and tea, along with a few changes of clothes. Maybe a book—or more likely, a book that will sit on the table and stare at me while I do nothing.

Snacks? We’ll hit the grocery store when we get there. Medications—of course. But heavy clothes? Nah. Just a light reminder to leave it all behind.

What I’m Not Bringing

This year, I’m also leaving the mental baggage behind. The “what ifs.” The “just in case” reading pile. The pressure to use the time well.

“Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.”

Mary Oliver

Perhaps this is the year that brings the answers.

We’re heading up to Wells, Vermont—a little town nestled halfway between nowhere and everywhere. There’s a sandwich shop a half mile away, a grocery store just across the New York line, and a whole lot of stillness in between.

Honestly, what more do I need?

What’s Coming With Me

I know I’ll bring my faded baseball hat, my well-worn Vermont sweatshirt (a souvenir from vacations past), and the dog’s bed and food—she has priorities too.

But the rest? Yeah…rest is the operative word here.

No worries about forgetting anything. No packing guilt. And no emotional luggage sneaking into the back seat of my car. Not this year.

“Guilt? Not this time. It never matches anything anyway.”

Not a Getaway—A Gentle Return

What if this isn’t a getaway at all?

What if it’s a re-entry point—a soft landing back into what matters? Maybe I’ll walk barefoot in the grass. Sleep with the windows open to the sound of the night. Wake up and watch the steam rise from my first cup of coffee.

This trip isn’t about escape. It’s about returning to presence, to peace, to myself.

Leave More, Bring Back Better

“Our life is frittered away by detail… Simplify, simplify.”

Henry David Thoreau

Packing light is a choice. A way of life, even.

Maybe by leaving so much behind, I’ll make more room to bring back what matters most. A clearer mind. A lighter spirit. A second slice of blueberry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Because maybe that’s what vacations should be: not about what we leave, but what we bring home.

I don’t know exactly what this week will hold. But I do know what I’m not bringing—and that alone feels like enough.

Talk soon…

G