How long would it take you to pack up everything you own?

It’s that time. We’re packing up the Vineyard and getting prepped and ready for our winter migration. It’s hard to believe how fast the summer months blow by and that it’s time to fly.

Well, not quite yet.

I still have my Lake Austin Spa Resort reunion with Debbie Phillips (mentioned in this month’s Marie Claire — sah-weet!) before we land in the sunshine state.

But, first: packing day.
And, on this day of filling luggage I discovered some of my own baggage.

As I sorted through bins of winter clothing and piles and summer clothing, I looked up at Justin and said, “I seem to have a lot of clothes.”

To which he sarcastically replied, “uh …you think?”

It reminds me of Day 138 and the Pop Quiz — what would you put in one box, if you were only given one box to keep your most prized possessions.

Back then I wondered:
Just what do I really need?
And, what do I need with me?

As I was packing today the answer seemed to be two things:  clothes and paper.
I own a lot of clothes and paper, in the form of books and notebooks, lined paper, blank pads, ringed and hard bound.

After a while it stacks up.

But, today, I was thrilled to find The Notebook.
Inside were the scribbles of dreams from three years ago. Back then, I was starting over with a blank slate — no job, no husband, no car, no home base.  So, I took the advice of my dear friend Dianne and started keeping notes in the little green notebook she gave me to place next to by bed.

Here’s an image from one page:

Among these scratchings is a scene of a couple enjoying golf, tennis, skiing, the beach and a house where the sun always shines.

This was six months before I met Justin, and almost a year before we moved to the Vineyard for our very first summer, one year before we wintered on a mountain top in Vermont — and two years before we moved to Naples for the winter, where the sun always shines.

Ironic, I suppose. How a little drawing predicted my fate.  Or maybe it was the power of visualization. Or the secret of silent longings. Or something else all together.

On the back of that drawing was another list titled:
I want to be the best form of me.

When I turned to this page and saw the list of items starring back at me, I sighed and paused looking down at the lined page, soaking it all in. Then I smiled. The list describes exactly how I feel about myself these days.

Right now, it’s hard to believe there was a time I didn’t feel this way.

But, back then, when I wrote out this carefully crafted list, I felt stuck and slammed with life’s great surprises and turn of fortunes. It wasn’t a wish list, it was a stretch list — no — actually, it was more than a stretch, it was an unimaginable leap through time and space to get to a place where I could feel inspirational, fun, thoughtful, dedicated, loving, creative, progressive, and team oriented.

And, tonight, as I sit here typing, this list seems to hold the answer to my original question:

Just what do I really need?
And, what do I need with me?

It seems so obvious now.
I need me. 
The very best form of me. 

And, you? Do you know what you need?

If you don’t, may I suggest starting with a list.
Just a lovely little list.

Tags: lovely little list, Martha's Vineyard, naples, notebook, packing, The Notebook, Vermont