The Slow-Cooked Sentence

Preparations

Rachael Conlin Levy


My family’s packing for our Summer Vacation, and I think it interesting to see how my husband and I both achieve peace of mind before locking the door: He buys a packable porta potty. I spend two days washing comforters, sheets and pillows.

Our obsession with keeping dry and clean date back to 2002 when we took our 3-year-old daughter and two 1-year-old sons to Amsterdam to visit family. While waiting to board the return flight home, one son vomited. Shortly after take-off, the second son joined him in what turned into a 14-hour pukeathon across the Atlantic. We ran out of clean clothes, then we ran out of dry clothes. The stewardesses avoided us, a U.S. Customs agent waived us through without an inspection, and as we waited to catch the last leg of our flight, our daughter began throwing up. When we arrived home, we hauled our stinky, damp, exhausted bodies into bed and slept.

Seven years and one additional child later, we’re about to board a plane and not get off again for eight whole hours. In the face of such insanity, we take comfort knowing that in our carry-on luggage is a tiny toilet, and in our home are freshly laundered sheets on all the beds. Just in case.



3 responses to “Preparations”

  1. Kyna says:

    Good luck! And happy vacationing.

  2. I know your going to see so many cool sights. I hope you and your family sleep well on vacation 🙂 and have lots of fun.

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