I travel a lot. In fact, last month was the first in 16 months that I didn’t travel, and the only month this year in which I slept in my own bed every night (although I did make a few day trips). As I write this I’m in the middle of a week-long family vacation in Southern California, and I’ll be heading for EuroPrideCon and then Iceland later this month.

Despite my frequent wanderings, I hate packing. Whether I’m going away for a night or two or several weeks, packing is a task I face with angst and trepidation. I guess it’s because I can never precisely predict what the weather will be, what I’ll be in the mood for, and which activities I’ll partake in. And I really don’t want to overpack because that’s a pain. I usually give myself a stern lecture about how I’m not going to Mars, and therefore can buy anything I really need at my destination. But the lecture doesn’t help much.

This March, I was lucky enough to spend three weeks in Europe. I got to vacation in the lovely Loire Valley with Shira Anthony, then attend Salon Livre in Paris, then stop over in Ghent for a couple of days, then do Leipzig Book Fair, and finally spend a few days in Munich before returning to Paris and then home. What a wonderful opportunity, right? Since I’d be schlepping around on a lot of trains, I wanted to pack really light. So with even more angst than usual, I managed to fit everything into a carry-on sized suitcase plus a backpack.

Then a funny thing happened.

I arrived in France more or less when I was supposed to–but my suitcase did not. All I had on me was my backpack, which contained my laptop and charging cords, my purse, and my coat. Fortunately, the airline managed to find my suitcase and get it to Paris the following day. Unfortunately, despite their repeated promises, they took almost a week to reunite me with my luggage.

So what did I do? We weren’t in Paris, where shopping is delightfully easy, but rather in a tiny village near a small town. With Shira’s help (she’s fluent in French and I most definitely am not), we explained my situation to the waiters at a lovely restaurant, who directed us to a big store. There I bought a few basic outfits plus toothpaste, toothbrush, etc. When we were in the larger city of Tours a few days later, I hit up H&M for some additional clothing. I also did a lot of sink laundry.

In other words, I managed just fine. I had a wonderful time in the Loire and never once had to meander rural France naked and unwashed. The airline eventually reimbursed me for my expenses. I kept some of my purchases, and every time I wear them now, I’m reminded of a fantastic vacation. And I did get my suitcase back–that’s a whole story in itself–which meant I had swag to give away in Paris and Leipzig.

Just a few weeks after I got back from Europe, I took another train journey, this time to Los Angeles and then Portland, for a total of 2 1/2 weeks. Again I took just the small suitcase and backpack. But this time there was no Packing Angst! I had found that I could get by with basically no luggage at all–and that the lack of luggage wouldn’t diminish my enjoyment of the trip. I just threw a few things in and stopped worrying about whether they were enough or the right things. And when I packed again the other day for the family vacation, same thing. Small suitcase, no angst.

Wow.

I’ve learned some great lessons here. Sometimes I guess it takes some loss (even if temporary) and some trauma to realize what we’re capable of. Personal growth can follow from pain. What a comforting thing to know!

Have you ever learned something useful from adversity?

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Kim Fielding is the bestselling author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.

After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her husband, her two daughters, and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.

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