I call "not it" for packing jobs 'till eternity

and here are the reasons Jack should agree.

1. Jack is not just good at packing. He's a Master Packer. I've seen him masterfully fit the following into my Element: suitcases for all three of us (suitcases large enough to contain necessary items for a week of beach and mountain weather in Mexico), all of the presents that a (some say spoiled, some say appreciated) six-year-old girl received from two sets of grandparents and two sets of Santas, snorkeling gear, a separate bag of my shoes, a toiletry bag, at least one sack of food, necessary electronic/entertainment items for a trip (Ipod, cds, DVD player, etc.), a cooler, and TWO surfboards. AND THEN, he removed all of those items from my car, flexed his packing muscles, and got it into his little Subaru!! He's not crazy about video games, but I'm willing to bet that he would embarass Tetris addicts with his abilities. I've never seen anyone look at a packing puzzle and determine that tilting the toiletry bag like so will free up the space for these two freakin' surfboards.

2. He's also focused and quick about it. When he's on a packing mission, he will not be distracted until the job is done. Before his own flight, I fell asleep one night to a great big mess and woke up in the morning to two neatly packed bags and two neatly packed carry on items. Like the Packing Fairy. A very masculine Packing Fairy, Jack.

3. I am neither focused nor quick about packing. In my own desperate attempt to pack our things I've been distracted by the contents of old purses, my old writings from 325M, Nora's old writings from the 1st grade, old photos, and tax documents. But more often than not I just get bored with the whole thing and leave it--a bigger mess than when I started.

4. I just plain suck at packing. There are spaces around big items in boxes and suitcases that I know Jack could fit a surfboard into, but I can't see how tilting anything just so would accomodate anything more than a small stuffed animal or perhaps a thin journal or photo album. IN FACT, I've removed journals and photo albums from the "Pack up to store at Mom's" pile and put them into the suitcases just because there seemed to be a spot for them. No lie. I've attempted to channel Jack during this debacle to guide me. I've seen him pile everything onto the bed first (rather than just start putting things in suitcases). SO I took everything out of the suitcases, put them on the bed, and then put everything right back into the suitcases. That was no help at all. I've taken things that were neatly stacked away in the closet and stacked them less neatly against the wall. Somehow physically moving things makes me feel like I'm doing something. The state of the room now is just as bad as it was two weeks ago, but everything is in a different place.
And so, dear Jack, I am "not it" for packing. I will, however, keep the jobs challenging (and thus interesting) for you by accumulating more things.