Ode to a List

Despite all evidence to the contrary, I am a very organized person. Not-withstanding my aversion to housekeeping, I actually get a lot done in an efficient, orderly manner.

One of my favorite places in the world is an office supply store. To walk in and see the reams of unopened paper, the binders, the pencils yet to be sharpened, the calendars and all the other wonders of the office, makes me giddy with delight.

My favorite projects are ones that require me to put things together and organize them. To me, they are like puzzles, with a very satisfactory finish when they are all put together correctly. I love the software program Excel (who doesn't, though, right?). All of the information is categorized into neat little columns, which can be processed to pull any kind of data for which you might be searching.

I am also a Master List Maker. (If that could have been a major in college, I would have so rocked it!) I get such a kick out of checking things off a list. It's almost like the little check marks are rewards for an accomplishment.

Some days if I am having a really hard day, I'll even put simple things on my list, like: fix breakfast, drive to work, check e-mail. That way, even if my tasks are too lengthy to complete that day, I'll have at least been able to say I got something done.

Today is the first day of school for my kids. I envied them as they put on their new clothes, assembled their new back packs and helped pack their lunches in their new lunch boxes. It's a fresh beginning; a new year; a new planner/calendar; new school supplies; and new endless possibilities for lists.

We are also beginning a new Sunday School year at church. My vbff and I are teaching together. While we do manage to be organized individually, I have found that together, sometimes we tend to drift and wander instead of staying to the task at hand (unless, of course, the task is scrabble and a glass of wine). But we both realize this and do our "homework" before we come together to "play".

I don't necessarily know her level of enthusiasm for lists. But she is incredibly organized and has the energy of a three-year-old hyped up on pixie sticks and Jolt.

We do keep sort of a mental running tab on things we would like to do and places we would like to go. I don't know if we have actually ever penned them on paper, though. The next place we are going together is a Girl's Night Out with another of my bff's and one of her other bff's. I have a pretty short list of things I want to do that night: 1. check into hotel; 2. eat dinner; 3. go back and get "ready"; 4. go dancing!!!

I know hubby must marvel at all the scraps of paper lying about the house with different lists on them. But, they keep me (somewhat) focused. They give me a sense of accomplishment. And they give me a quick visual of how to organize my time.

In my life, I would like to:

1. Keep family first- always
2. When in question, refer back to #1
3. Always do some kind of teaching
4. Continue to always learn new things
5. Always find ways to be creative
6. Search out opportunities to help others
7. Make sure to take care of myself
8. Always be thankful

I think that's a pretty good list. It's broad enough to encompass so many things. Yet, it is focused enough to show definitive, quantitative results.

Now, I need to sign off of my computer and begin my list for today. It's a little long, since it is the first day of school. But I'm confident I'll complete it with skill and efficiency. And before I go to bed tonight, I'll prepare my next list for tomorrow...