The More Things Change, The More They Don't Stay the Same

 I was 34 years old before I crossed the Atlantic for the first time. Harold and I travelled to Italy on a guided tour.  It was the first and last time we allowed others to plan our vacation.  I have meticulously designed this return visit, spending  hundreds, if not thousands, of hours perusing hotel websites, train schedules, museum exhibition listings, restaurant menus, Covid regulations and travelogues.  I have learned through this process that not much has changed in Italy over the past three decades. Other than joining the European Union, discontinuing the lira as the primary monetary unit, and updating culinary creations to appeal to the 21st century palate, the country remains the Italy that beguiled many of us in films such as  Roman Holiday The Godfather, Three Coins in the Fountain and La Dolce Vita.  The art is still spectacular, the gelato still deliziosa, the countryside eternally picturesque.

Harold and I, on the other hand, have not weathered the relentless march
of time quite as well. We are old, which is obvious if you read the list of movies I referenced. Our advancing age became unavoidably evident as we packed for our imminent adventure.

This is the medication we packed in  1989.

And this is what we packed last night.

We need all of it.  Really.  Without Harold's CPAP machine neither of us would be able to sleep for three months. We would shlep around Italy like zombies and instantaneously forget everything we'd see or learn. Under normal, CPAP-aided conditions we can hold onto newly acquired information for three whole hours before it vanishes into oblivion along with the name of the shampoo girl and the correct way to spell the.   

I must have my knee brace for long walks because long walks are definitely on the itinerary.  I also need a muscle relaxer in case I throw my back out (not a remote possibility). I need Synthroid because I have no thyroid, and Celexa, because I have no ability to regulate emotions. Harold needs his GERD medication if he has any hope of enjoying the best cooking the world has to offer.

I remember thinking as we were herded onto the tour bus with forty other exuberant travelers lo those many years ago, "I hope our hotel is near a gelato shop in case I get a sudden craving late at night."

Today I thought to myself, "I hope our hotel is near a hospital in case my retina detaches again." 

Packing has illuminated additional changes. This is the kind of attire I wore to lounge at the pool in the good ol' days.

If (and that's a big if)  I decide some pool lounging is in order I will wear this.

I tell people this particular wardrobe choice is because of my sensitive skin.  Feel free to believe that.

Technology, God bless it, has made packing more onerous than ever. 

The good news: .Harold and I are not so old that we are incapable of using a smartphone, kindle, smartwatch or laptop.

The bad news:  The good news means we want to bring our smartphones, kindles, smartwatches and laptops.

This is the extent of the electronics we packed in 1989.

This is what we are shlepping across the Atlantic this time.

My phone isn't even in the photo because I had to use it to take the photo! Why can't there be a universal charger that fits in every device? I have chargers to charge things that I can use to charge other things. Yes, that sentence makes sense. Read it slowly.

All this to say that it is not my fault I need two suitcases and a carry-on and that each piece of luggage weighs more than a couple of very small friends I have.  It's okay though, because I packed back medication.

You may wonder if there is anything we packed in 1989 that we don't need any more. Yes. We don't need to bring Traveler's Checks. They took up so much space.