Packing Progress Post I

This is the beginning of a week-long series on packing for Singing School. I have been packing for singing school every summer for eleven years, and my enthusiasm is on the wane. I thought blogging the process might increase my enjoyment of it, as well as being a nice slice of life series for the kids to read when they are older.

Next Sunday, we head to the first of two Singing Schools we attend each year. At Singing School we camp as families and attend classes on how to sing as a church congregation. We also receive instruction in songleading and enjoy a week of fellowship with friends, some of whom we don't see at any other time of the year.

So that is why we are pulling things out of the attic and washing and ironing and packing.

I actually began on Saturday, when I went into the attic to find our pump for Mariel. (She needed it to inflate her wading pool.) While I was up there, I located the big tent, the little tent, the hot plate and the toiletry totes. (And the pump, of course. This is needed for our inflatable mattresses.)

A lot of folks at Singing School camp in very comfortable RVs, trailers, pop-up campers, etc. A few of us sleep in tents. Last year we shared a lovely shaded campsite near the playgrounds with some friends, and we hope to get the same site this year.

Today my to-do list includes finding a below-the-knee robe for Triss, some hair bows for Cornflower and purchasing batteries and other necessaries. I may just purchase ribbon and make Cornflower some bows. I will need to find my glue gun and glue sticks. Hmm.

We also need to organize all the treasures in Cornflower's and Mariel's room. We have friends coming to stay with us this weekend on their way to Singing School. I don't want them to trip over anything while they are here.

I know as soon as the kids get up, they will be pulling things out of their drawers and closets and starting their Singing School piles. I need to decide where the piles may sit for the week.

I have the laundry pretty well caught up at this point-- I made sure to work on that this weekend. But no ironing done. I know it seems silly to do ironing when you are going camping, but there is a dress code we need to follow at singing school. We bring modest, casual clothes for the daytime, and simple, modest dresses for the evening. At my house, that stuff needs ironing. I don't fold the clothes straight out of the dryer like I probably should.

As you can imagine, four ladies times five days of two outfits each equals a lot of clothing. I usually skimp on myself since I am not playing hard all day, and only bring one outfit for most of the days, with a couple of extra changes for the day or two when I feel really grungy from the heat. There is no air conditioning at singing school and the temps are usually in the upper eighties to upper nineties. Thunderstorms and humidity also add to the necessity of clothing changes.

It doesn't sound like a lot of fun, does it? But it is strangely delightful. I cannot explain.