What's In Your Suitcase?

I don't recall that I've ever forgotten anything on a trip, in fact, I usually pack way more than I need. Oh my gosh, I'm such a control freak! I don't allow myself to be open to any surprises. Maybe that's why I'm struggling with everything at work right now. So much extra work is being thrown at me, but it's all new and so much of it I don't know how to do. Do you know anyone who says they love change? They're liars. I hate change. I cope with it by wrestling it, until it becomes routine. Then when it changes again I cry and moan and complain until I wrestle it again into a routine. Back to what's in your suitcase, I'm actually guilty of the other crime, and that is packing more stuff than I need. Being a control freak, I want to be ready for anything. I always pack my blue platypus for overseas trips. Don't ask me why, it's just something I have always done. He goes in my suitcase when I go on a plane. I don't need to take him on car trips however. Along with blue platypus, I'll pack too much underwear, too many socks, a lot of aspirin, dramamine, CD's clothes. Okay, maybe there was one time when I spent a week in Rome and I packed only three pairs of pants. Seemed like plenty until I went for a ride on a scooter with my friend on a rainy night. My buff colored pants got splattered with all manner of Roman mud and dirt. That left me with only two pairs of pants that were also ready to dance around by themselves, but their color hid the dirt better. On that trip I wished that I had at least one more pair of pants with me. What's the moral? Rome is a dirty city? No. More importantly, how did I react? Well, I wore my other "not so clean" pants home. I was only there a week. No big deal. I could deal with it for that short amount of time. What's the big picture with my job? I've been there eight years. It's been a likeable job up until now. Do have the stamina to stick it out until things change again? Will things get any better? Can I be patient enough to see things through? Certainly I'm not the only one experiencing highly unpleasant conditions and more work than I can do. My boss said, I have to be patient. At the first sign of hardship, I want to give up and run. Maybe that's not the wisest idea. I can't control what is happening at work. I can only control me and my reactions and attitudes. (Ugh, so sorry for the cliche, but it's true, right?). It's easy to write on paper, and it's easy to say. How to implement it into my brain? Control freak and negative attitude be gone!