House of Lists Begats Listy Child

I have come to love lists. Without them I’d be lost. Growing up there were always lists. Most often it was my mom’s shopping list…the one that lived precariously on the kitchen counter. Precariously, because it often was smeared with butter and crumbs from mom’s morning toast or it had coffee rings or ash smudges from her Terryton cigarettes. How it ever made it to the store AND was legible at all I will never know. Despite this, the way the list was organized and used made it one very efficient tool. It was broken down into areas of shopping i.e.: deli, dairy, health and beauty aids, veggies, canned goods, paper products, dog food, beverages etc. All these categories with their attendant items actually made it onto about a 5×7 pad of paper! It was very cleverly organized as my mom passed through each section (like the deli or dairy) all she had to do was look at the list and pick stuff up, no backtracking to get Maypo, Dolly Madison Zingers, or Zarex for her! (see I just sneaked in a list of products I used to have when I was a kid just to see if you knew what they were!)

My dad had lists too. Most often they were reminders of things he needed to do, project supplies or appointments to keep. Dad’s list was much bigger (he needed more room) as his were always boldly written out with black marks-a-lot. HIs lists tended to stay around longer as they were the kind that got X’d off as projects got finished, the appointment was kept or the borrowed tool got returned to it’s owner. My dad was also the one who taught me to use a calendar…which in it’s own way was a keeper of a type of list, just a list that had a specific deadline attached.

As for me. I don’t feel I’ve accomplished anything unless I can see it listed out, or X’d off the calendar. And heaven forbid it never makes it to the calendar, well then it won’t get done, I will miss your next birthday, Tupperware party, dental appointment or flea powder application. I find lists strangely comforting.

I also like to keep lists of favorites…I happen to love the idea of book marking, but also sharing my favorite words, songs, wines, books (authors) etc. So this is the page it’s going on. Plus it keeps the blog entries form being too long.

So. Welcome to my lists. Feel free to add ideas of your own.

Just a thought I caught flying by, what do you think?