Lurking Lists

One of the things I love to do is create a list.

I write a- To do list- every morning

I also write

-grocery lists

-gift lists

-goal lists

-book lists

-prayer lists

-idea lists

I especially like bullet points- – –

sometimes I will star things on a list,

or circle them, or put in a few more

exclamation marks !!!

Another thing I like to do, is underline sentences

in books (if I own them). My Bible is highlighted,

underlined, penciled, and written in the margins.

The first time I attended a writing critique group the

soft-spoken, genteel lady instructed us to try to remember

what we liked about a piece or a favorite sentence.

I started doing it with my own work. I underline or

star or circle or exclamation mark it a bunch to let

it stand out. I am not sure why. I guess it seems productive.

If you were to look at any of the tabletops in my house,

you would for sure find a list.

One of my grown girls writes lists on post-its to share with me.

They include things she thinks I can do on weekends-

places to walk, or shop.

In truth, I am surrounded by lists. Often I feel

people are a bit like lists. Lurking about, waiting to be read.

I knew a lady who used to tie strings around her fingers

to remind her what to talk about. She held the string with

her free fingers then when the timing seemed right, she’d

take it off and pull a list out of her purse – like -talking points.

We had a woman who attended our book club

who kept a list of the characters in the books we read on

3×5 cards, to keep track of them. She paper-clipped her 3×5

cards and would whip them from her lap when it was

her turn to discuss the book. Now, she was a character.

At times I have accidentally rolled over a discarded, or lost list

in a grocery store. All the while thinking, Gee, I wonder what was on that list?

I just returned a library book entitled, Lizette’s List by Susan Vreeland.

I got it solely because of the word List in the title. It was an excellent read.

I found some list thoughts from years back-

      What I will Miss When I Die

I am an obituary reader; I especially like to read the ones that are around my same age.

But even more so, people that have made it a long time.

I think what I might miss a lot when I die is the stress of living.

I think living is stressful. If truth were told I am addicted to that stress

– the more stress, sometimes depending on the kind, the better.

Occasionally I don’t want the stress. But usually I like it -I thrive on it –

managing it, working it, beating it, winning, and at the end of the day kicking

it’s ass and checking it off my list.

Here is a List poem that was assigned by the gentile lady- earlier in this post…

       A List Poem
12 pairs reading glasses
A pair in the bathroom
Three in the kitchen
Two in the den

Two in the office drawer
One near the bed
Is there one in the car?
No,I find two.

And look, their is one on my head.

What’s on your list? Especially now at

the beginning of a new year?