Living on the List

My Godmother Carol is a wonder to behold. I stayed with her after-school during my middle school years before my biological mom stayed home on disability. I loved being at her house and playing with her kids. But they were more than that, they were my second family and her kids Jason and Christy I considered to be my brother and sister. When we came home, Carol was attentive, made us snacks, and made us do our homework. It was heaven and it was normal. It was the only thing normal that I had at that time in my life because my mom was married to my abusive step-father, and no day was normal at home. I loved coming to my Godmother’s house and experiencing the joy of normal. I practice the joy of normal in my own home now. Drama is like vermin to my husband and I, and we keep it out of our house.

My godmother Carol was a wonder to behold because of the amount of sheer tasks that she could accomplish in one day. She got the kids off to school, while they were at school, she worked at home in her husbands medical supply business, then she would pick up all the kids from school, including me and then do snacks, take us to activities, then make dinner. On top of that, the house was always neat and clean. Normally my Mom would come get me before dinner. Looking back, I can understand how tired my Godmother Carol was, and I applaud her for doing what she did. What always struck me was the list. The shopping list, the task list, the activities list, everything was kept straight on the list. When they would go camping, I was amazed at the three page list that she would compile and she would start packing a week before the trip and she would start lining up things to pack in the hallway, everything guided by the list.

I realize that making a list is not an unusual tool and that people have been using them for years. It definitely has rubbed off on me, if it’s not on the list; it is lost in the void. But now, I utilize the ultimate list making tool. I have Excel. Excel is great for business and crap like that, but Excel is my list making heaven. Excel helps me manage everything at home as well. Not only can I list everything and categorize everything, I can total amounts and do nifty things with the excel sheet. It takes list making to a new level with a cool border and a bold font. The beauty of the Excel list is that if I need to add something, no need to re-write the list or make a big mess, all I need to do is add a row and my list stays nice and neat. I find that making lists keeps the completely neurotic side of me in check and that helps maintain the joy of normal in our house.

Here I am about to take my family on a trip, and I have got my list and some semblance of sanity, thank you Carol.