Sunday 1 May 2011

Five Forgettings

My days are full - even when I don't have much to do - FULL
So full, in fact, that I forget things.  I used to be able to cope pretty well with a full and varied life ... 3 children's appointments, classes and social lives, plus a job, volunteering, running a home, and squeezing in some adult socialising too.

Now I need lists, and a calendar, and post-it notes stuck in prominent places, and friends who know me well enough to ring me up with prompts.  Yet things still get missed or left behind and even when I remember, I'm almost always late!

Take for example holidays.  We all make packing lists so that we don't arrive with three pairs of trousers and no shirts, or with stout, sensible shoes and no sandals ... I make lists too and still things go wrong:

FREE picture suitcase
Photo by JoesSistah on Flickr
  • You'd think it was a simple matter to go on holiday to the Isle of Wight by car.  Well it is - and so easy to pack ALL you need for a toddler and a baby at the beach - just throw it into the boot of the car.  Wellies and buckets and spades too: you never know what the British Summer will bring.  Trouble was, I forgot to load up anyone's coats; they were all still piled in our hallway ... and it poured for half the holiday!
  • I got better at packing for our family after that.  But began forgetting to apply the same care to my own suitcase.  The first time we went to Disneyland back in 2001 I forgot to pack any bras - and, being considerably slimmer then, I didn't happen to be wearing one when we left!  Not really a problem ... until you go onto the white water rapid rides - or rather after you go onto the white water rapid rides!
  • Three years later we returned to Disney and believe you me, I had bras a-plenty!  Only I forgot to pack any spare knickers.  Yes, luckily I was wearing a pair for travelling.  Our lovely villa was not in an area well blessed with clothing stores - and the novelty XXXL knickers covered in Pooh (Bear!) that were available in the local gift stores weren't quite right either.  My one and only pair of briefs were washed and dried nightly and rather faded and threadbare when we returned to the UK three weeks later!
  • Even when I pack my bags properly, I don't always manage to bring them with me.  I was on my way back to the UK from my home in Belgium one year and took the train from Brussels to Zaventem airport.  As the ticket inspector approached, I looked down and realised that I had my suitcase but my rucksack, containing plane ticket and passport, were still standing on the platform!  Oh dear!  I didn't have time before my flight to go back and get it out of the station Lost Property where some kind soul had taken it.  Thanks to the lovely ladies at the British Caledonian desk we got it checked out of Lost Property and back onto the airport train.  Incredibly nothing was missing from my rucksack when I finally got it back, but unfortunately my flight was long gone. 
  • My most spectacular holiday fail was forgetting the way to the airport car park having dropped my Soon-To-Be-Fiancé off with the suitcases, tickets, passports etc as we were already late for check-in.  I ended up driving several miles down the motorway before finding a junction allowing me to get back to the airport.  STB-Fiancé was nowhere to be seen so I managed to blag my way (in a foreign language, this being Schiphol!) from the empty Check-in Desk, through Departures, past Passport Control (with NO passport) and raced to the departure gate at top speed.  I made it there just in time ... to see the plane reversing away!!  It was then that I discovered that STB-Fiancé was NOT on the plane, and, although he'd somehow been allowed to check us both in without me being present, he was now waiting somewhere on the other side of Passport Control and Customs!  More rather long-winded explanations to bemused officials followed before I managed to get back out of the Departures (or was it now Arrivals?) area without so much as name badge to identify me.  STB-Fiancé was duly found, we wangled a place on a later flight and reconnected with our luggage in Paris.  Despite everything, later that weekend STB-Fiancé proposed so this particular tale had a very happy ending ♥

This post was brought to you courtesy of Sian's Storytelling Sundays (a first Sunday of the month storytelling phenomenon) - full details and more stories here.

29 comments:

furrypig said...

Brilliant brilliant travelling tales! I should really write down some of my own funny stories one day (or I'll forget them!) I too need lists these days! I once met Kenneth Williams (from Cayy on films etc etc) and he told me abut travelling abroad and forgetting socks. He went to a local market and bought several pairs in dark colours, which subsequently turned his feet bluey black for the entire trip! So even the rich and famous make errors in packing!!!

alexa said...

Oh my goodness, what a feast of tales! There's a whole mini-album in here. Travelling with you is clearly quite an adventure in itself. :)

Sian said...

lol to Storytelling Phenomenum. Love that!

I love the whole post of course! Maybe you forget things, but you certainly know how to remember a funny moment and turn it into a great tale (or two..)

Thank you for joining in Storytelling Sunday. It's always a pleaure to have you on board (is that a phrase you hear often when travelling? x)

Jo.C said...

I loved this post - thanks for sharing :0)
I'm not thinking about my holiday errors - one was forgetting contact lens solution and case and having to buy some in Belgium which luckily we managed.

Unknown said...

Yes, travelling with you must be an experience!x

JulieJ said...

So pleased your story had a happy ending. And at least you've never forgotten the kids!!!!

Heather said...

Oh its always so good to hear that other people have similar problems to me & Im not the only one who needs lists & reminders lol :))
Great story xx

JO SOWERBY said...

scarey holiday tales but funny too. i love the fact that STB finacee still asked u to marry him. he obviously loved u because of ur travel probs anyway,
thats tru love,
Jo xxx

Miriam said...

Your travellers tales were so funny, probably not so at the time but today I thoroughly enjoyed them. x ps loved the happy ending.

Jen said...

Oh I have loved these tales - I too forget to pack things - like the time I forgot to put in any trousers for my husband for posh weekend away!!

Anonymous said...

Loved it! Sounds traveling with you is definitely not dull. :) I'm with you on the lists I seem to need them for everything but what really gets me is when I forget to take the list. :)

CoventryAnn said...

Your post really made me laught Jemma, esp the bit about STB fiance!!! I'm not sure if my OH would have been so understanding :D

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

You've certainly had some very interesting adventures, before your travels even began!

scrappyjacky said...

These tales really made me smile....but remind me never to travel with you.

Alison said...

I especially loved the Disney-without-a bra story! Great travel tales
Alison xx

debs14 said...

Brilliant stories! We were once on holiday and met a family where the wife had not packed any of her husband's clothes (was it you?!) she had packed hers and her childrens and told him to add what he wanted to take to the packed cases. He misunderstood and left his piles of clothes in the spare bedroom, on the bed, assuming she would see them and pack them. She saw them and thought it was clean ironing waiting to be put away ....

Anonymous said...

So, does the conversation on the way to wherever you are going go something like "I wonder what we forgot this time?" Still I think you deserve an "A" for ingenuity in terms of overcoming the various problems you've encountered!

Becky said...

Oh goodness! You do have some holiday adventures! Hope when you go away next that all goes smoothly! Thanks for sharing these stories :)

Amy said...

If nothing else, you have remembered to post for Storytelling Sunday and we are all the better for it! :-)

Maria Ontiveros said...

What great stories! The one about the bras made me laugh out loud! One of my favorite packing stories is from when my husband's bag was just a tad over weight. He rifled through his bag and took out his copy of The Brothers Karamazov, which was perfect to put him in weight.
Rinda

Tracy said...

Brilliant travelling tales. I loved the last one.

Alison said...

I've just read your comment on my blog, and am so pleased to hear the weather behaved in Barcelona..it's a beautiful city, isn't it? I'm assuming you had no travel problems this trip?
Alison xx

Gem's Crafts said...

What fab little stories all rolled into one post - although they probably weren't funny at the time!

I always go on my way thinking there's something that I've forgotten, sometimes I'm right, but sometimes I'm just paranoid!

Missus Wookie said...

What great stories and ooooh I'm glad that you've got better. At least you've never made the same mistake a second time right? ;)

Mary B said...

Oh Jemma what are you like I wouldn't have put you down as a scatter brain, but this story of forgetfulness tells me you are.

humel said...

Oh, dear.....! I was going to feel smug about my holiday packing but having forgotten to take The Girl to Brownies this evening I don't think I'm really in smug territory....

Anonymous said...

Fantastic! I even laughed out loud a few times. Loved your tales. : )

Allycat x said...

Very funny - I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh!!! But very funny nevertheless!!!

Remind me to tell you about my mum forgetting our undies one holiday!

Susanne said...

Fun stories to hear - maybe not so fun at the time. I have discovered that having hubby help pack is not always the best solution either - one trip to his parents house - he left the stack of my undies and shorts and tops sitting on the bed at home. Luckily there was a K-mart close so I was trying out Jaclyn Smith's line for a few days.