Trash Bag Must Suffice as Easter-Trip Luggage

Pete arranged his clothes on his bed as we prepared for our Easter trip to Illinois to see Grandpa and Grandma. He was bring several pairs of sweat pants, some with holes in the knees, and his good pair to wear if he went somewhere.
He packed short-sleeved shirts and not any “sleeved” shirts, which is what he calls long-sleeved shirts and that he won’t wear because he doesn’t like his arms to be confined. He told me I was in charge of packing his Easter clothes and he wondered whether he would be able to change right after church.
When Pete, who is 7, asked for a suitcase for his clothes, I told him to get a trash bag and we would pack his and Matt’s clothes in it. That idea didn’t go over with him.
“How come I always have to use a trash bag for my stuff?” he asked.
“You do?” I asked.
“When we went to Grand Island to see the Sandhill Cranes, I did,” he told me.
His older brothers, John and Mike, found an Army duffel bag for their clothes, and Pete wanted to use something similar. I began searching around for some other kind of bag for Pete. But we seem to be in a suitcase downturn. The girls had already laid claims on what was available that didn’t have broken zippers or latches.
Pete said it is embarrassing to bring his clothes in a trash bag. Colleen tried to influence otherwise.
“No one will even see it,” she told him. “When we arrive it will be dark. I’ll carry it in for you, and besides, a trash-bag suitcase takes up less space in the car because it is soft and fits in smaller spaces.”
I resorted to bribery.
“If you use the trash bag this time, I’ll get you a suitcase of your own to use for your next trip.”
I’m not sure whether he believed me, but the weekend passed with no more discussion about his travel bags.
Pete didn’t need to wear his “sweat pants for going places.” Most of our Chicago sightseeing trips were canceled because of what they were referring to in Chicago as “da flood” caused by “da hole.”
In case you missed it, before Easter weekend the basements of Chicago’s Loop were flooded by Chicago river water gushing into a series of tunnels under the downtown area. Electricity and water were also turned off.
Matt had hoped to make his first trip to the top of the Sears Tower. For my guys, everything in life is compared to the Sears Tower, a tall person, a Lego block construction, or an airplane flying overhead they wonder hot it compare in height to the Sears Tower. Making that long elevator ride to the top of the Sears Tower is the Mount Everest climbing challenge of Matt’s 5-year-old life, but he had to put it off until his next visit.
When it was time to pack up to drive home to Omaha, I wondered why we brought so much stuff we didn’t need or use. I think we could have easily put everything our whole family needed into one trash bag – but it’s a good thing we didn’t because I left Pete’s traveling trash bag behind.
As convenient as it is to use a trash bag as a suitcase, there is one drawback. It can easily be thought to contain what it was intended to contain: trash.
As we packed up, I had the kids set our stuff by the back door of my parents’ home. Pete’s trash bag was put on top of the recycling basket by the back door. I thought it was filled with empty pop cans, so we left it there, but I thought wrong. I should have recognized it not as a trash bag at all but one piece from the matched set of luggage stored in the cardboard box under my kitchen sink.
Grandpa discovered our oversight after we departed. Now I’m wondering how a trash-bag suitcase will travel by mail.
April 28, 1992