So excited, and yet so discouraged at the same time

We packed our packs today, to check weight. We had almost everything packed. (Still lack the freshly-sprayed sleeping bag liners, which needed to dry and air a bit.)
My pack came in at 20 pounds! I was so discouraged.
On the good side, my sweetie figured out that the trekking poles come apart, and now they will fit securely inside the pack for the airplane flights. I put each pole set into a sock and used my hair elastics to encourage it to stay together. I'll tuck socks and undies in around them for the flights. I tried to tell myself that the poles were why the pack came in so much heavier than I expected.
But 20 pounds from two skinny aluminum poles? I don't think so.
Last time I did a test pack, of course, toiletries and laundry items weren't included. How could the shampoo, conditioner, All detergent to wash the clothes the first few days, clothespins, various chargers, sink plug and so on be so heavy? I guess that long list answered the question. (I had also added to the clothes a windbreaker and a long sleeved nylon fishing shirt and a pair of fishing type shorts. And I had packed 5 or so pairs of socks.)
The camera isn't included, as it's in the underseat bag. The Kindle, with its map book and guide book and Bible and a number of other spiritual books, also will be in the underseat bag. But the flashlight, and its 3 batteries, do add to the pack weight. Actually, there is more than one flashlight running around, but the one that adds weight is the headlight. Which I have used in our yard and it's really great for finding dogs in the dark. Their eyes glow really bright when the beam hits them.
But the time grows short, and I'm so excited!

On another subject, here is a picture of the pants that I shortened by 6 inches for my sweetie.
When I took the picture, I remembered why all the change had to come out of the lower part of the legs: there are pockets that take up much of the upper part of the pant leg.