To Do:

Sometimes I notice how clearly I am like my mother. Other times, I’m my father’s daughter through and through.

As hectic as my life has been lately, made apparent by the lack of blog posts, there is one thing that keeps me sane. I know this thing, weather nature or nurture, came from my Father.

I make lists.

Making a list is my lame attempt to lasso all the ever-changing aspects of my life and pin them down in one place, so I don’t have them spinning in my brain.
I used to make many different lists, see the list below:
• To do’s at work
• To do’s at home
• Grocery Lists
• Cleaning Lists
• Gift lists – birthday, Christmas or other.

As of late, nothing in my life even exists unless it is on paper. I’ve been so busy lately that I can’t keep a single thought in my head. Husband will tell me we need something at the grocery, but before he even finishes his sentence, I blurt out “add it to the list.”In this frazzled state, I can’t even been counted on to remember what he said by the time I’ve got pen to paper.

The smartest thing I’ve done recently is to consolidate the many lists to one notebook. This notebook is mostly my work notebook, but in the back section I keep a running tally of all the personal things I can’t get to because of the preceding work lists.

Currently this ‘personal’ section of my list reads as follows:
• Stamps
• Laundry
• Clean house
• Yard-clean up
• Fix bathroom light
• Go to the grocery
• Workout! (there really is an exclamation mark)
• City taxes

Some of the items above even have sub-lists, like cleaning the house and grocery lists. Somewhere lost in my mess of loose paper’s exists a list with deck stripping and staining supplies to get at Lowes. I can only remember this because it was written down. If I can’t find the list, chances are the deck will not get repaired this summer. Notice how working out falls only above city taxes. Oh and fixing the bathroom light has been on one list or another for over a year. Need to get serious about that one.

All in all, I thank my mom for my ambition, and my dad for the skill to keep that ambition organized.