Here is one Mommy Job I would like to quit: Bag packer and stuff rememberer. You start out with a tiny infant and a diaper bag that’s three times as big as said infant. Then as you and the baby grow you realize you don’t need most of the stuff you were carting around and you take it out. Eventually you have a potty-trained child and you grow confident enough to leave the house without a spare outfit, a large plastic bag, and a huge wad of baby wipes.
But the problem is that by then, there are extracurricular activities in the picture. And then, then, you are stuck needing all kinds of supplies and accessories for those activities. And so you–I–begin amassing a collection of bags. Pictured above: one for rollerskating. One for ice-skating. One for school (been sitting there since June 4). One for “water day” at child care. One for the Nintendo DS that comes along for long car rides to ice skating. One for day camp. Not shown: Lunch bag. Soccer bag (last time anyone played soccer was two years ago). Indoor pool bag. Outdoor pool bag. Other child’s school bag. Carry-on bag for air travel (kid 1). Carry-on bag for air travel (kid 2). Activity bag for car travel (x2).
In theory, having a designated bag for each kind of outing is a good idea; you pack once, and then you restock, and then you grab on your way out the door. But you also end up with scenes like this one in the corner of your guest bedroom. (Also not shown: karate clothes piled on guest bed.) And somehow only one person is responsible for finding the right bag, making sure the right stuff is in it, bringing it to the car, and bringing it back in from the car.
Sucker, thy name is Mommy.
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Oh, yeah. I hear you. Except all of our bags are in the dining room.
You are so right!
My kids have different camps each week of the summer, which is really fun for them but oh my god, what a drag. Each camp requires a different sign-up sheet, and each requires lunches *and* snacks, and some need sneakers and some need water shoes and some need bathing suits and some need cold-weather clothes (for spelunking!) and and and. Sundays here are a frenzy.
My comment was going to be what Magpie said, exactly.
I love my husband dearly, but I don’t think he would have a clue what to do if he had to pack for day care/camp/activities every evening as I do. Heaven knows what the kids would end up wearing at their various activities.
Sucker bags. Definitely.
The bags are mine too, although SwingDaddy has done a pretty good job without me many times. And they improvise interestingly for the missing items.
HAhahaha. You are so funny! We have many bags as well. The real problem is when you need to start switching things from bag to bag. Like when my daughter can’t find her hockey tape or neck guard and has to borrow her brothers and then doesn’t put it back. Multiply by three and things start to get hairy.
Sing it sister.
Slacker, thy name is ME. I’m not one for diaper bags, and my kid isn’t old enough for classes and hobbies, yet I still pack my car seats and floorboard with bag after bag – and still more hang from any rail and hook I can find. And lest you think I share your problem (by which I mean organizational prowess), just know that none of my bags are packed by category. Unless “black hole” counts as a category?
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