Note: Ron reads all my articles before I post them. He’s normally pretty businesslike about it, but this one got a chuckle and the assertion that, “Yes, but I can lift it over my head.”
Show off.
I’ve learned a lot of cool stuff from Ron over the years, much of which means a great deal to me. But if I had to pick a favourite, I think it would be the simple truism that is today’s quote.
Better to have ’em and not need ’em, than need ’em and not have ’em.
I remember when he first said it to me, as he was getting ready to go away for a long weekend. He was standing in the middle of the room, holding something in his hand in that, “Should I take it or not?” musing way that people have when they’re packing. It ultimately got stuffed into his suitcase, and I said something about it making the cut, to which he made his now-famous (at least to us) reply.
Better to have ’em and not need ’em, than need ’em and not have ’em.
Since then, it’s become one of those ingrained, inside phrases that couples share. I say it all the time. I doubt I’ve gone a month in the near-twenty years since Ron first said it to me without using it at least once. It’s been proven true too many times for me not to use it. I’ve lost count of how often I’ve needed the thing I was considering not bringing with me until the simple truth has cleared its throat, tapped me on the shoulder, and gestured to just take the damned thing with me, already.
Better to have ’em and not need ’em, than need ’em and not have ’em.
Such a simple phrase has created such harmony in our relationship.
Well, mostly. There is one time where we disagree, and that’s when it comes to travel.
Not road trip travel. We’re in complete agreement on road trip travel. We do, after all, have an entire vehicle dedicated to the transportation of us and our things.
But when it comes to travel that doesn’t involve a car? That’s where we go our separate ways.
Because if I’m going to have to drag it through an aiport or lift it into a train overhead, I want my luggage to be lighter and smaller – not like the absolute monster of a suitcase that he uses.
To see previous posts in my Quotes series, click here.
The View From the Handbasket 
Reminds me of back when my husband was doing estate planning. The documents he used were enormously long, and often the clients wanted to know why all that legalese was in there. The answer was “sweater in a suitcase”. You might not need that language, but if you do, someone’s going to be very glad you included it.
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