I took a moment to check my ‘to-do’ list today.  It’s wasn’t that bad.  Typical stuff, such as, groceries, school lunches, hockey schedules etc.  Not that overwhelming really, until I realized that this was just one of my so-called ‘lists’.

I didn’t realize I was a closet list maker until I prepared to get ready to leave on a weeklong vacation.  We had packing lists, grocery lists, schedules, detailed lists for the in-laws and my parents, emergency lists and the dreaded work list.  Day-to-day, I do everything on most of these lists, without ever needing an actual list.

I go to work every day and don’t need to worry about whether stuff will get done because I will be there tomorrow to finish it.  But going away is different. I have to get a week’s worth of work done ahead of time, forward my emails and transfer my calls, complete deadlines and sort out any problems that may arise while I’m away.  This actually wasn’t too bad; I have great co-workers that I know will step up if there is a problem.  The work list wasn’t too bad.

It’s the everyday stuff that I do without even thinking or even making a list.  I get the groceries, do laundry, dishes and housework, feed the cat and dog, chauffeur the kids to hockey and other sports, make sure homework is done and many, many more tasks on that invisible list I do every week. I have had to make lists for other people to do while I’m away, and frankly, I am terrified and overwhelmed just looking at it.  Do I really do all that stuff every week?  I feel guilty asking other people to fill in for me.

I looked around at the multitude of lists before me. Hand written lists on the backs of old envelopes (don’t laugh, you do it to), lists on my dry erase board, lists that I have actually emailed myself so I would forget, scribbles on the calendars, notes for teachers, I have lists coming out my ears.

With all these lists you would think that I would be super organized and everything would run so smoothly that I wouldn’t need to worry about anything when I go away for a week. Yeah, right! Chances of me forgetting to add something or do something on these lists? 100%

Especially because I usually forget to add ‘read the list’ or ‘bring the list’ to the bottom of all my lists…