Today's the BIG DAY!

T-minus 11 hours until my flight from Logan to JFK.  Then a direct flight to Abu Dhabi, where we will be spirited away by fellow teachers to a fabulous dinner ... while we look not-so-fabulous after a 13 hour flight!  

I'm mostly packed, waiting to dry my hair, pack my straightener, and PRAY that my suitcases aren't more than 50lbs!  I did the math.  Extra weight is NOT CHEAP!  

So in an attempt to expedite these extra charges, I picked up a couple of Flat Rate boxes from the USPS.  Little did I know that I would spend $108.44 to ship 2 "large" boxes to the UAE!  (WHERE, might I ask, does the US Postal Service get off by calling an 8x10 cardboard box a "large"?  Don't they know that we live in a Super-Sized America where when you want a "large", that means getting a 44oz Kidney-Buster Diet Coke for $1.49??)

Therefore, I keep pulling things from my suitcases and deciding that I don't need a 14th cardigan (when really, I do!!!  but it's heavy and I never wore it anyway ... right?) or 4 pairs of flip flops and my pink suede flats.  

How do you decide what to take on a 2-year journey?  What matters more?  7 Harry Potter books or 8 years worth of journals?  Hairspray and a Lancome dual-coverage compact or my CC&H textbook?

I guess none of it really matters now, though, because I must leave my lovely apartment forever and say good-bye to Boston and the USA ... and all those things I leave behind.