Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Making Lists


I have always been a list maker. A friend once teased that, “Her lists have lists.” But the joke was true. I even have a master list of packing lists. There is the New York City Packing list and the Cape Cod list and the Kripalu Packing List and the Camping Trip list. I mean, really, these are vastly different undertakings, no?

Another list memory: my first husband—and this may be why he is an ex-husband—once wrote on my daily to-do list: “Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale….”.

Even at that I have defended my lists. Maybe it’s outer order balancing inner chaos? But my defense is always that I get a lot done.

But yesterday reading a wonderful novel called “April & Oliver” by Tess Callahan I read this line:  “Lists are for people who don’t do what they want.”

It struck me to the core. If I was doing what I really wanted would I really need a list?

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