--- title: What’s in your backpack? by Sarah Reinhard description: What’s in your backpack? by Sarah Reinhard --- [![catholic-mom-logo-v2](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/images/catholic-mom-logo-v2.svg "catholic-mom-logo-v2")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) [![search-icon](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/search-icon.svg)](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2010/07/23/whats-in-your-backpack-by-sarah-reinhard#) # What’s in your backpack? by Sarah Reinhard Jul 23, 2010 11:00:27 AM  |  by [Sarah Reinhard](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/sarah-reinhard) [![](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/reinhard_new-100x150-20.jpg?width=100&height=150&name=reinhard_new-100x150-20.jpg)](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/reinhard_new-20.jpg)I had forgotten, in the years between toddlers, about the backpack. It was an easy oversight. I had an infant who was keeping me busy and a preschooler who was active, to say the least. When the ever-present backpack stopped coming everywhere with us, I didn’t notice it. Until it showed up again, that is. It happened quietly enough. I was traveling out-of-state, with a five-year-old, a two-year-old, and a fellow adult (not my husband) who needed some assistance. We had two major airports to conquer. The backpack seemed like a good idea. And it was. The problem, if you could call it a problem, is that the backpack, or "packpack," as she calls it, has never left. It comes with us wherever we go, whether we take a vehicle or a wagon or simply step outside to the back yard. In it, you might find a favorite blankie (properly seasoned with dirt, spit, and smell), a herd of small horses, a baby doll, seven pink Legos, a few markers, and a coloring book. You might find, additionally, kitchen utensils, an old container of we-don’t-know-anymore, and an unmated sock. My five-year-old just rediscovered her backpack on a recent trip. I can see the glint forming in her eyes, and I wonder if it means we will begin hauling everything precious and important with us to the dentist, the grocery, and the sandbox. I had only just convinced her that we are not, in fact, transient people, that the large white structure where we sleep, also known as a house, will keep her valuables safe and sound. The truth is, I see a bit of myself in my girls. In their obsession with keeping their most important possessions always within reach, I see a reflection of my own need to have my phone and my iPod in my pockets at all times. I have to wonder what God thinks, seeing me lug my worries and my cares around, despite His promise to take care of me better than I can imagine. What’s in that backpack I’m carrying around? What’s in the bag that I’m carting from place to place, thinking I have to bear its weight all on my own? What’s keeping me from letting go, from letting Him? // ***Copyright 2010 Sarah Reinhard*** ### Share this article [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2010%2F07%2F23%2Fwhats-in-your-backpack-by-sarah-reinhard%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2010%2F07%2F23%2Fwhats-in-your-backpack-by-sarah-reinhard%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2010%2F07%2F23%2Fwhats-in-your-backpack-by-sarah-reinhard%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=What%E2%80%99s%20in%20your%20backpack%3F%20by%20Sarah%20Reinhard) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2010%2F07%2F23%2Fwhats-in-your-backpack-by-sarah-reinhard%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2010%2F07%2F23%2Fwhats-in-your-backpack-by-sarah-reinhard%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ** #### About the Author ![Sarah Reinhard](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/Contriubutors/SARAH%20REINHARD.jpeg) ### [Sarah Reinhard](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/sarah-reinhard) When she’s not chasing kids, chugging coffee, or juggling work, Sarah Reinhard’s usually trying to stay up read just one … more … chapter. She writes and works in the midst of rural farm life with little ones underfoot. She is part of the team for the award-winning *Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion*, as well as the author of [a number of books](http://sarahreinhard.com/my-books/). ## Related Blog Articles [ What’s that on my sunglasses? By Sarah Reinhard Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2010/07/02/whats-that-on-my-sunglasses-by-sarah-reinhard) [ Call for Videos: What Do You Want from Your Parish? Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2014/02/10/call-for-videos-what-do-you-want-from-your-parish) [ Tech Talk: What Would Be on Mary's iPad? Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2012/05/22/tech-talk-what-would-be-on-marys-ipad) ## Comments ## Donate now [![Support Catholic Mom](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545) [![CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png?width=1806&height=731&name=CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png "CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) ##### Subscribe to Catholic Momcast on iTunes or Spotify [![itunes-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/itunes-logo-black.svg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-momcast/id1362352357)[![spotify-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/spotify-logo-black.svg)](https://open.spotify.com/show/15CoipHL7z61IDcYErV0b8?si=hqaQJSxDQgq7S1hxCwsoxQ) ##### CatholicMom on Social Networks [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) ##### About Catholic Mom [Who We Are](https://www.catholicmom.com/about-us) [Contact Us](https://www.catholicmom.com/contact) [Support CatholicMom.com](https://www.catholicmom.com/support-us)   ##### Associated Links [Holy Cross Family Ministries](https://www.hcfm.org/) [Family Rosary](https://www.familyrosary.org/) [Family Theater Productions](https://www.familytheater.org/) [Congregation of the Holy Cross](https://www.holycrossusa.org/) [Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C.](https://www.fatherpeyton.org/) [The Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life](https://www.peytonfamilyinstitute.org/) ### **Stay connected!** Don’t miss a thing! 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