In Which I Overshare Again

I've acquired an odd travel habit from my Mother. All my life when we went on vacation I remember her setting aside one small hard side suitcase, approximately 14 x 12 x 12, completely for the purpose of medicines. Some of this may have started because my sister used to take several different medications throughout the day to control seizures. But she never stopped doing it long after my sister stopped accompanying us on vacation.

I was thinking about this habit as I was unpacking the medication suitcase the other day. Yes I know I've been home from vacation for almost a month. I've got a blog to keep up and three kids to raise, and I obviously suck at one, so I've got to keep busy with the other.

Anyway, as I saying.

I was unpacking this suitcase (the very same one, I borrowed it specifically for our vacation) and wondering what compels this behavior.

I packed infant Tylenol, infant Ibuprofen, children's Tylenol, children's Ibuprofen, ADULT Tylenol..........you get the picture. In addition I had Benadryl, 6 different types of sunscreen, Solarcaine sunburn spray, heartburn medication, Tums, the list goes on

Because you know, you just can't find all that stuff in the wilds of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We're talking about the part of the country that gave BIRTH to Wal-Mart.

But as it turns out, I left out the one critical item that I actually needed. The day before we were ready to leave for home I found myself in dire need of a tampon. A major tragedy was averted by getting in my van and driving to the nearest Wal-Mart which happened to be only 10 minutes from the beachfront condo we stayed in. And I only had to battle one vicious lion and struggle through a small jungle to get there.

However the next day when we left for Pennsylvania I discovered all the joys of changing tampons in gas station and truck stop rest rooms along the highway. And as if that wasn't enjoyable enough, I also found Jamie had generously shared his case of diarrhea with me.

Turns out there wasn't any Immodium in that suitcase either.

Did you know highway gas station rest rooms can provide you with condoms in red, blue, green, or even glow in the dark (colors dispensed randomly), but they are woefully short on tampons or Immodium?

Maybe I'll take a bigger suitcase next year.