What to Take to Yellowstone?

I'm going to Yellowstone for 6 months.  I'll be living in a dormitory room with a stranger.  The closet shouldn't even be called a closet since by definition that is a space to hang clothes and there isn't much of it.  Actually, the room is the size of most walk in closets.  And I'll be living in a closet with a stranger who might eat raw garlic every night and breathe on me.  I always sleep in a cold room (menopause was radioactive) and if my roommate wants a hot room, I'll have to put a pillow over her head while she sleeps.  Is anyone going to slap me?  Deep breath.  I can do this. But didn't I hate my roommate freshman year of college?  She said her boyfriend made her stomach smile.  She wore monogrammed sweaters and played Gene Pitney albums.  I can't believe I actually remember Gene Pitney but that is how much the experience scarred me.

 I'm better now.  The panic attack is over, for the moment.  So, anyway, I'm going to Yellowstone, and I'm making lists.  I love lists.  They are part of my fantasy world where I'm organized and my underwear is neatly folded in my dresser.  The reality is I leave the list at home and find myself in Walmart wondering what I need.  I don't know about you, but if I go into that store for a broom, I come out with sixty dollars worth of random junk.  Who knew I needed potholders shaped like lobsters? 

Things I still need:  bug spray, bear spray (still frightened), phone charger, hand sanitizer, books, alarm clock, black socks, small lamp and snacks.  I've got at least 3 or 4 more Walmart trips in me.  The good news is that I'm driving so there is plenty of room to take what I need.  The bad news is that I'm driving and have plenty of room.  I have become my parents.  I just realized that.  When my children were little, the folks would visit for a week but it always looked like they were moving in.  Talk about panic attacks.  It took an hour just to unload their car.  I kid you not, they brought end tables, flashlights, lamps for the end tables, pillows, blankets, food, and boxes of odds and ends like knives, Kleenex, and mysterious items that my mother used in the bathroom.  It isn't like we lived in a box under a bridge.  We had a house with bedrooms, bathrooms and central heating.

I've found my motivation.  I will not be my mother.  I will pack like a free spirit who isn't concerned with material items.  I will be one with nature. Well, after I pack my computer, DVD player, digital camera, power cords, cell phone, hair dryer......oh, whatever.  The mysterious bathroom items are staying at home.