The Bags I Carry

This morning, as I schlepped outside and loaded up my car for the day ahead I stopped and took notice of the fact that there were four bags I was carrying. One for work (a canvas tote). One for my internship (backpack). One for the lawyer's office (serious black leather with manila folders). And then one for the kids after school activities (sports bag).

It is as plain as the nose on my face. I have baggage.

Physical baggage, emotional baggage, etc.. This girl's got it. But maybe my baggage is a good thing. I have these clearly defined places where things now go in my life. Nothing overflows from one bag to the other. I don't just have the one huge bag (like the momma diaper bag from years past) that contains everything and nothing at the same time. There are boundaries and limits to my bags. I carry them only when I need too - like today, going from one place to another. I can easily leave one behind for another. I have control. That, my friends, is a good thing.

I've been a bit oversensitive about the word "baggage". What nearly single almost 40 year old woman isn't? I guess I realized, as I packed up that car, that everyone has baggage. I always had it - In my past life, I just shoved everything into one giant life bag that was too flippin' heavy for me to carry and too messy to find anything significant. But the real measure, (I now see), is not if I have baggage, but how I carry it.