Extra Baggage

Now isn't that a loaded title!

I've had a post in the wings for all of you regarding my trip to see the Manta Ray's. It was such a memorable night. I'm waiting for hubby to get my video up on Utube to share. As soon as he does, I will post that entry. In the meantime...I have a more serious post.

I have been pondering about a weighty subject, literally.

When Greg and I travel we have to be very conscious of how much our check-in luggage weighs in order to prevent having to pay for overweight luggage. We take so much diving and camera equipment. We have to be smart so we pack, weigh, re-pack and re-weigh, re-pack, etc.

I got to thinking...How much does my carry-on bag weigh? I packed of my laptop, various battery chargers, my priceless Nihon Vogue notes and minimum clothes I might need in case my checked in luggage gets lost or is delayed by a couple days(it does happen). My carry on weighed somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-22 pounds.

Well, when we arrived in Kona, we had to carry our carry-on luggage down the stairs to the tarmac. When we got home, I also had to carry this bag from the ground floor of our house up to the master bedroom(3 flights of stairs). It gets heavy and annoying if you can't just roll it around!

I have gained about that much weight since meeting Greg 8 years ago.

I had a light bulb moment.

The weight of my carry-on is what I carry around with me now, everywhere I go. I carry it up and down the stairs everyday at home, I carry it with me to the grocery store, I carry it EVERY-WHERE.

No wonder I feel more tired. No wonder why I feel more winded going up stairs. No wonder why I feel out of shape.

It has woken me up a bit about the reality of my weight gain and how much energy it takes to cart it around.

I have gained it slowly so I have not noticed how my body, bones and muscles have accommodated to deal with this additional load. When I had to lift and carry the bag I definitely noticed how much it made me work.

I don't want to carry that carry-on bag with me everywhere anymore. I wish getting rid of it was as easy as checking it in at the airport and sending it to some other destination!