To-Do Lists

I love a to-do list--I always have. The process of moving things out of my head and onto the page (or, in more recent years, the screen) has long been cathartic for me, and the therapeutic pleasure of neatly crossing off completed items gives me a sense of peace at the end of the day. As you can see from the screenshot above, my lists include everything from the everyday mundane (grocery shopping lists, reminders to do the laundry) to work-related tasks (prep English 9 class for Tuesday, grade senior essays) to long-term projects and goals (learn sign language, remember to use FSA account by June 15) to the ubiquitous reminder to "make new to do list" that my friends and family love to laugh at.

In the last eight months, I have been told--over and over again--that all my to do lists will fly out the window when Button arrives in February, that I will be grateful if I can manage brushing my hair and eating something in between nursing sessions, that I will consider it a huge accomplishment to remember to feed the cats or to take something out of the freezer for dinner. Yet, while I recognize the wisdom of those statements, I'm starting to think it's okay that I don't entirely agree with them.

You see, I like to-do lists. They're not a chore to make or a drudgery to accomplish; instead, they help me remember the things I would forget--and they let me choose to forget the things that I don't want to remember. Will the content of my lists change when Button arrives? Absolutely! But will those lists still exist? I hope so. They'll function just as they do now, reminding me what is most important to accomplish in any given day. So "Work out: Walk/Elliptical" may turn into "Take a stroll with Button around the lake" and "Make freezer meals" may become "Figure out dinner" and "Prep background lecture" may morph into "Read Button a story"--and I'm more than okay with all of those changes.

So, while I recognize that I probably won't accomplish everything on my to-do list when Button arrives and while I know that I'll probably have 3-4 tasks per day instead of my usual 12-14, I think I'll keep putting the most important things on that list because it keeps me feeling like there's a sense of order and calm in what I know will be a sea of confusion and chaos.

(But, Baby Button, if you could give mama another four weeks or so to check off a few more things before you arrive, that would be superb!)

Jeff's shadow was unavoidable, so he decided to wave to you this morning!