Something I really took for granted before having a child was the leisurely task of composing to do list. I mean, I love to do lists. Composing them enables me to get a handle on what needs to be done. And the feeling of checking things off? Only topped by totally clearing a to do list. I love to do lists.
Enter Anna, my now near seventh-month old daughter.
I still love to do lists, let me say. But I'm finding it so much harder to find time to actually make them. Some days, all I can do is keep my head above water, as it were. I know I'm much more productive with a to do list, but it's much easier these days for the tasks of daily life and my work routine to overshadow any grander idea of accomplishing tasks.
Those thank you notes from Anna's baptism? I have them. I have the list. Now nearly two months later--maybe writing this here means I'll finally DO them today. Or maybe tomorrow.
Cleaning our upstairs bathroom? Wait, when did we do that last? Hmm, guess that should be on the list too.
To do lists offer a sort of structure to my time, and that is more needed now than ever. I keep trying to get a good routine--I KNOW if I could set a routine time (I thrive on routines) to make my list, my weeks would be more productive, my time more efficient, and my free time less harried. The problem is, finding a solid routine with a seventh month old under foot? Challenging to say the least.
So perhaps today, even as I tick of the items on the to do list in my mind, I will also sit down and make that to do list I've been needing. And then as I check things off, I can feel a bit more "normal." Yep, that's right, to do lists help restore my sense of well being. I'm okay with that.
