living by the lists

This is "Toony" the sock monkey. He was pretty near the top of my list of stuff to make for special people. My nephew Tyler is such a sweetheart - he has sock monkey pajamas and did not have a sock monkey! Can you imagine....? Anyway, in my quest to right as many wrongs one can while wielding needle and thread, I decided this summer that Tyler was going to get a sock monkey this fall, no matter how busy I was, he was moving to the top of the list.

And the lists of which I speak, are the lists that kept me sane all my life, keep me insane in my life, count my blessings and carry me through the day, week, month and year.

A list of some my current lists (definately not in any order of priority):

-What I need to accomplish at work today, expanded version includes what I need to accomplish at work within the next 3 days, and slightly related is the list of what I want to accomplish at work within the next 6 months

-My list of what I need to do when I get up in the morning that is not on my "A M Autopilot flight plan"

-my list of wines to try

-books to read

-messages on my answering machine

-resolutions for the New Year (which I reread many times over the new year to increase the possibilities of success, overall I am pretty good about being reasonable and facing challenges)

-priorities to attend to in my life for the next few weeks

-UFO's

-projects I want to start

-things that are going to cost me more money than what is in my change purse

-groceries to buy

-commitments I have made to friends

-jobs around the house

-plants I have growing in my garden and plants I wish were growing in my garden

-things I want to make for the special people in my life (friends and family)

-people I want to send Christmas cards to, and people who send me Christmas cards

-birthdays and anniversaries which are upcoming and past

-people I need to call or write (just to tell them I miss them)

-items I would like to purchase as gifts for my friends and family, related to the list of items I have purchased for them

-bills to pay

-sayings I have heard and want to remember

-websites to check

PAST LISTS:

One very important past list was "THE LIST" my husband asked me to make very early in our married life, this was to be a list of anything I would ever want to have. He set himself to getting me everything on that list (That man makes me feel more loved than I can imagine any woman could ever feel). Somewhere about 1987 I wanted a microwave oven. This was a real topic of debate because it was not on "THE LIST". He actually saved the piece of paper that "THE LIST" was written on so he could keep track. I pointed out that microwave ovens had not even been heard of when I made that list so it should be considered a fair addendum. So we got the microwave. He lets me add stuff all the time now.

And the little lists..., all those little lists of sanity. When I was at home with little kids, lots of housework, broke, and perhaps a bit overwhelmed by the vastness of responsibilities that I had in my life - I needed to count every action as a "win", every little success had to help me keep my head above water. I made lots of little lists about the tiny things I needed to do, the laundry, wash the dishes, sort the socks, dust, sweep the floor - I needed to validate that those endless, mindless, thankless household tasks were part of a path to success. The success of making it through a day, putting a meal on the table, navigating through the minutiae of life as a SAHM. It feels so good to cross things of the list and with great inner satisfaction I stroked a line through all the little tasks of life - DONE (and done is pretty close to perfect for me).