Lost and Lost and Found (by Margaret)

I knew that traveling with my family for such a long time would have its ups and downs.  I will say that things have gone better than expected.  One part that I anticipated being hard is, and that part is keeping everything organized.  After traveling with the Dieter/Koerner family  to Alaska many years ago I promised myself that less is more.  Well when you head out for 2 months with 4 people and want to backpack, camp and fish it is hard to bring less.  We rented a minivan for the extra space and have made good use of it.  We have a pretty good packing system but strangely enough people (Lucas and Walter) have a hard time putting things back.  Well, I guess we all have a hard time putting things back.  Every few days the van and bags need a good clean out and reorganization.  Even with that the van has taken on an interesting smell that cannot be readily identified. 

Lost and not found:

·         One camp pillow

·         One backpack cover

·         Two pair of flipflops (local kiwi term is “jandals”).  We have hope that one of these pairs may still be lurking in the deep recesses of the van.

·         One pair of sunglasses

·         Margaret’s prescription readers (mysteriously dropped into Milford Sound courtesy of Walter)

Lost and Found:

·         One leatherman tool, (lost and found on multiple occasions)

·         One head lamp (found deep in the recesses of our gear)

·         Lucas’ expensive down coat (a Hail Mary find several days after loss at a Te Anau campground)

·         ½ of a second set of Jandals (found upon a return trip to the Oreti River)

I’m sure the list will be expanded daily.

We were listening to a podcast the other day that was an interview of the author of “All Joy and No Fun”, a book about modern parenting.  The author contended that parents were least happy when their kids were teenagers.  One of the forms of frustration or tension during this period is that there is a tendency for a parent to associate negative behaviors of their child with the example set by one’s spouse.  I would like to point out that I am a well-organized person, so who do we have to blame for our current predicament? I'm just saying...