Long after they can possibly do me any good, I find outdated grocery lists, diligently prepared and forgotten on the kitchen counter on the day when I actually go to the market. Still, I make them, and sometimes, I even invent lists that don’t exist, because if you’re a list-maker, people think you know what you’re doing whether you do or not. Bear that in mind……
However, not all lists are positive. One friend recently showed up for morning coffee with his chin hanging down to his chest. The sparkle in his eyes had taken the day off and was so noticeably absent, I asked what was wrong. He had started a list of things he didn’t know anything about and was thoroughly depressed by the length of it.
“What a negative thing to do,” I exclaimed, “ Why not make a list of the things you DO know about instead.”
He’s an intelligent fellow who has plenty of knowledge and he quickly got over it — maybe the New Year had something to do with it. Goodness, if I were to make a list of the things I don’t know, it would take more space than this computer has room for. And then, what about all the things I don’t even know I don’t know anything about which I can’t even put on the list — see what I mean? I don’t want to go there.
It’s enough that I’ve made lists of books I want to read and places I want to go, friends I need to call and errands I need to run, doctors I should visit, people I want to write to, stuff I need to buy, and politicians I should complain to. I can’t always put my finger on them, but these lists do indeed exist. Somewhere, I even have a special list of things I want to do before I die, and although I rarely get to actually do any of the items on that list, it would be good to look at it again — if I were able to find it. Maybe in 2015 I will…..
Happy New Year everyone!
:D! Ha Ha! Also poignant. Very salieri for me, and for life in general… Great !@#$!@#$, Muriel! 🙂
Looks like I’m not alone in this, huh?
Me too! & when I leave the grocery list on the counter, I walk around the store in a trance, trying to visualize what I wrote on the list. It’s very reassuring when I get home & I’ve remembered every single thing on the list!
You’re better at it than I am Carol: Sometimes I go to the market because I really need some eggs. That’s all! I buy a bunch of other things but forget the darn eggs.
I put my numerous lists on my iPod now, which I call my brain. It works well, and makes my iPod very important to me. I spend a lot of time each day transferring it from pocket to pocket – when I go out and come back in for instance.
But it has its dangers. One day, talking with an acquaintance who complained about forgetting things I said, “Haven’t you got a brain”?
Fortunately he’s a forgiving soul and we got over it quickly after my profuse apology.
Alan
Interesting Alan:
I’m afraid if I had an IPod, and even knew what it was, I’d probably forget it on the counter before I went off to the market.
I hear ya.
There was a sale on notebooks. I bought several. But when it came to writing my To Do Lists in the notebooks, I could never remember which one was the one I had used. So my writings within them didn’t really “flow” well and I had more than enough notebooks with small writings galore in them.
have a great TGIF day!
Welcome to the club: I still make lists these days, but these are for the wonderful young people in my life. They are much better at actually DOING the things I write down. Bless them.