lists

A friend of mine recently posted about lists. I love lists. I make grocery lists, cleaning lists, to do lists. (Although as evidenced by my visit to the grocery store where I had to leave my paid for groceries at the till to go and get milk and oranges which I'd forgotten, I don't feel obligated to take the list with me when I shop).

Some childhood memories are of Mum cutting up cereal boxes into list sized rectangles and tucking them in the front of the pen drawer so when she needed to make a list they were handy. Mum is also much more organized and makes her grocery lists where things are grouped together as they are in the store, so she doesn't have to make several trips down the same isle for things placed haphazardly on the list.

I also have lists which have little drawings of my windows and chairs and their dimensions in case I find myself in Fabricland with the urge to sew curtains or chair covers or wheat bags.

Someone I love dearly was dating a man (who in the eyes of those of us not dating him was perfect) and when they broke up one of her frustrated comments was "and he doesn't even make lists!". While I think this was probably more of a comment on his organizational skills, it did make me think that between her and my Mum, I do come by my list making honestly.

My brother on the other hand likes little notebooks with the coil on the top for his lists. Or he used to, I think that he now probably used his blackberry for his lists or notes.

One would think that being a list maker would mean someone is organized, I am proof that this is not so.

My friends make lists too, one friend I know makes lists like me, when there is a cleaning list I will add something that is almost done or already is done so I can check something off immediately, I'm pretty sure she does that too, at least she tells me she does, maybe to make me feel better.

"A list is only as strong as its weakest link." Donald Knuth

Unfortunately I think on most of my lists, I am that link.