I am a list maker.
I make ridiculously elaborate lists.
Lists that are color coordinated, with little check boxes and flow charts.
And then I promptly lose them.
I think the list making stems from my childhood. I have diaries dating back to the second grade and each one is filled with lists. Like, for every Christmas and birthday I listed every single present I received and who it was from. Want to know what I got for Christmas from Aunt Caroline the year I was 9? No problem. Let me dig out my Little Twin Stars diary (pink with a silver lock) and I can tell you. Want to know my list of potential baby names? Hold on, that's in the diary from 7th grade, right after the page where I wrote every word of my conversation with Brett Sheffield in math class. Turns out that when he asked me for a pencil, it did not, contrary to the hopes and dreams of that diary, mean he liked me. It meant he just needed a pencil.
That's why I saved those diaries, in case you are wondering. So that my own daughter won't have to agonize about what that cute boy in her math class really means when he asks to borrow a pencil. And also she'll know that if you leave your clothes on the low bench when you change out for PE, that will be the day that the popular girls will think it's funny to plug the sinks and flood the locker room. And that you'll be forced to wear your gym clothes for the rest of the day. Which, in middle school? Yeah, that's pretty much a death sentence. So my daughter? She'll know to put her clothes on the high bench. And also to change with her back to the wall so no one can unsnap her training bra.
List making.
Right.
So I also made lists of goals every year. 50 things I wanted to accomplish each year. Surprisingly, these list actually contain a lot of check marks. I was pretty diligent about keeping to these lists. It's fun to see the progression of these lists from "have a sleepover" to "go to London" to "pay off credit card."
So here is my list for 2009. It's vastly different than my 6 year old list in 1989, which consisted of "learn to do a back walkover" and "make Tyler Reeves couple skate with me at Sparkles." It's also pretty different than my 16 year old list in 1999 in which I wanted to "get the lead in the school play" and "convince Daniel Weathers to take me to prom."
Okay, maybe I was a little bit boy crazy.
KA on 2009. Less goals. Bigger things.
- Buy a house
- Make this year's SIS event completely rock. Generally kick arse at my job.
- Get out the old Pilates mat and try Wii Fit Yoga. Don't pull your wenis.
- Enroll back in school for graphic design
- Visit the fertility specialist my doctor referred me to
- Actually stick to my nutritionist's plan and gain 15 pounds.
- Live greener. Tennessee was much more green friendly than where we are now.
- Scrapbook on my terms, for me. Not for magazine status. Not that the paychecks aren't nice, but I want to remember to create for the joy of creating and not just to see my name in a byline.
- Find a home church for us. And not as in, a church that we are members of. But an actual church that meets in people's homes for fellowship, not ritualistic organization.
- Be open. Open to new ideas, open to sharing.
- Love deeper. In friendships. In spirit. In becoming a closer one with Jeff.
- Have a baby.
