I am trying to purchase the last minute items for the trip. We are standing in an un-named department store and Mohamed is wheeling the cart up and down the aisle behind me. I'm contemplating flashlights and trying to keep an eye on him all the while feeling as if I just can't think, I can't make a decision. It's a flashlight. Apparently I can think because I am suddenly plagued with a storm of questions. I realize how much I don't really know.
I frame it in issues:
There is the budget issue, which narrows things...somewhat. There are quite a variety of flashlights available for under $20. There is an issue of space and weight. I'm looking for a compact light that will last (did I mention the issue that one of the boys might get a hold of it one day and wear it out entirely...) So I don't really want a battery operated one and the rechargeable is soo big. There's a shaker one that strikes me as completely unreliable. And I begin to ponder what, exactly do I need the flashlight for?
Will I be trying to read by flashlight? Dress by it? Will we be eating meals in the dark? I can depend on the power going out frequently but when does the sun go down? Surely, it is not like a northeast winter with our 4:00 nights. Being fairly close to the equator, can I expect 12-hour days? This is the kind of detail I want to know, sunrise and sunset, temperature highs and lows for each month, rainfall intensity (I guess we won't really be able to 'make a run for it' as we'll be walking to school everyday. I have got the impression it is a bit of a way. I can't even begin to contemplate the variables associated with umbrellas- size, sharpness of tip point, wind speed and durability, one for each or just one for all......?)
I'm used to thinking of a flashlight for outside, tromping through the grass and trees, maybe even for protection (big is good when camping outdoors.) But my whole idea is changing, my whole world and I suddenly feel completely unprepared.
In this new world, a flashlight is no longer a temporary device to walk me through a midnight trip to the bathroom or shed just enough light to gather children and blankets to settle in for a stormy night at home. Its become more of a necessary tool for everyday use, or, certainly, weekly. The problem is I'm just not sure what to expect and I want to know exactly. I lose a sense of adventure for a minute, there in the store with Mohamed wheeling away and other shoppers contemplating fishing poles. It is obvious they know what they're in for. The more I think about it, the more I wonder why no one bothered with the details on this one. Maybe it is included with the house (like the iron.)
I am flooded again. Should everyone have their own? Will I be able to charge it? Should I go for LED and batteries? Will there even be batteries? Too many questions, too few answers. I look longingly at the nine-hour camping candles.
I am rescued by my friend who spots an economical, electrically rechargable, lightweight illumination device. Saved.
Now that this crisis has been averted, I can go back to being adventurous and composed.
