Stockpile

The convergence of [treats that arrived in this week's mail] + [Trevor's family wanting to buy plane tickets to meet us when we finish Peace Corps next year] = has me thinking about the snacks I've got stockpiled in the pantry. This leads me to conclude that I have finally amassed enough koolaid to last until May [eta: maybe April!], when we're outta here. Ditto taco seasoning and other spicy things.

I struggle with the tendency to hoard things, even here where I know my stay is temporary and I will have to carry home my collections in a suitcase. Recently I read an article in Oprah magazine (of course) that advised me to unburden myself from excess junk, knowing that everything I need is readily available. Clearly this writer has never lived in Chipata, where we have experienced shortages of everything from electricity to tomato paste.

It's hard to relax the hoarding instinct when you regularly face empty shelves at the grocery store and have wrung the last drops from your emergency water cans. If I can master the urge here, it should be a breeze when we return to the Land of Plenty.

So-- deep breath-- don't send any more koolaid! I have enough.