The IP Weekly
I lost my backpack, left it on the plane back from Kansas City. Honestly, this was all my own doing. In my never ending need to manage everything around me I forgot to pull my bag out from under the seat in front of me. I travel with this bag all the time and have pulled it from under the seat in front of me each and every time, for some reason(s) I neglected to this time. I filed the appropriate report with Delta around 30 minutes after we got off the plane as we were getting into our Uber, and while they say they keep the case open for 3 months I have almost no confidence in its recovery.
While I await the result of the Delta search I have been carrying a Target bag to and from work. It’s a little silly, but those bags are ubiquitous so I fit right in. I don’t want to buy a new bag too quickly, my bag of choice isn’t inexpensive. I had this one for about 6 years and it still looks and feels like new. So, I’m in a transition space and I admit it’s frustrating. I miss my bag, but it’s the things I cannot easily replace that are having the greatest impact on me.
The best news is that I didn’t have my computer with me. I always have my computer with me even when I know I am not going to use it. For this trip I wanted to make sure I would move through security as quickly as possible so I left my computer at home. Yes, there is a lot of thinking that goes into my decision making about just about everything. Some call this overthinking, and perhaps, occasionally, I engage in that type of thinking. I prefer, however, to call it rehearsing. This trip required serious orchestration with me calling the plays like a quarterback under center to my ragtag group of receivers. Audibles had to be called as new information emerged. I was taxed, leading to my turnover. My consistent imagining of each and every scenario, especially for this trip, leads me to good decision making and packing too much clothing.
It wasn’t until we were getting into our Uber that I realized my bag wasn’t positioned on my back like it always is. I had gotten my father to the curb and my nephew to his pick-up location perhaps allowing my brain to do a quick inventory on me when I noticed I was missing something.
Aside from the things we need, what do we all carry in our bags? Over the years we all accumulate items in our bags that are meaningful if not all that useful. My bag had a few motivational stones in it that I received as a gift. I can easily get other stones, but getting things on Amazon just isn’t the same as when someone important gives you something from the heart. My bag also contained a pen and pencil bag that I used to hold chargers for my phone. The pen and pencil bag were a gift from my kids after I completed my doctorate. It was a pen bag from Penn — I love the pun. I can recreate all of it except for the thoughtfulness. I can buy new chargers and place them in a new pen and pencil case, but the energy I feel will be gone.
Other trinkets populated my bag that connect me to memories or people. As I replace them it will be solely for utility and not for feeling. The small front pocket of my bag held an emery board. Not sure it’s possible to explain the significance of such a small item. As I write this very sentence I know that I would normally stop and reach for it to file my nails. And yes, this is easily replaceable without sentimentality. The top of my bag had a carabiner hooked to it, a parting gift from the school I left in 2011. I never used it for its intended purpose, but there it sat as a reminder of times gone by.
I need a new bag and they are easy to come by at all different price points. This new bag, when I finally decide to get it, will be functional for sure, but it will be void of the memories I carried with me all those years.
