Friday, July 27, 2007

Listless



We’re leaving for vacation tomorrow. This stresses me out.
I’ve got to pack four people for a week at the beach and make sure that I leave
no stones unturned. Instead of doing what I should be doing: packing, I am
making lists. My procrastination rituals usually involve lists. The planning
for the packing successfully postpones the actual packing which is, in fact, my
ultimate goal.





Suitcase
Packing, you see, is a pain in the ass. Planning for packing
is actually kind of fun. I sit back and visualize my days, lounging at the
beach. I visualize my kids in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening,
before bedtime. What will they need? How much of what they will need do we
already have? What do I need to buy at the store? This daydreaming process
produces several lists. I have a list for my daughter, one for my son, one for
myself, and one for my husband. I have a grocery list as well and a list of
long car-ride essentials.





I arrange the lists neatly on the kitchen table, with a pen
readily available to check off each item as it is packed. Exhausted from the
list making process, I decide to take a break and catch some Z’s while the kids
rest. I wake up, go into the kitchen, look at my lists and panic sets in. I
better double check the accuracy of each list before I begin packing.





19 comments:

  1. You just made me feel better for my obsessive list making (I'm in the process of writing one now). Have a great time on vacation!

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  2. You're still okay. It's only getting out of hand when you start making a list to keep track of all your lists!
    Enjoy your vacation.

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  3. But isn't checking off the list a great pleasure? I know when I don't make "the list" before we travel, I suffer. The last time I went listless, I forgot something of such vital importance, it almost ruined our vacation: my makeup!
    Have a wonderful time!

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  4. the only thing worse than packing for vacation is UNPACKING when you get home.

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  5. I'm glad there is someone out there that does the same things I do. I often daydream about doing things but then never actually do them or do them at the last minute.
    An eg- I plan to clean out a drawer and upon cleaning out a drawer I find a picture from way back when- then I daydream about it and search for more pictures but never clean out the drawer.

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  6. Just had to comment on the clever title of today's blog...love the dual meaning. :)

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  7. I love list!! It gives me peace as I mark the items off! I have one already started for tuesday so I can write stuff down as I think of it. Have a great trip! I hope you didn't forget anything!

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  8. I am the queen of lists :) Seems the two of us got mixed up over at The Writer Mama, so I figured I would stop by to meet you :) We're heading to vacation in a few days also, and I'm sure I will start my lists tomorrow.

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  9. Lists are great things, but do you know what I have found out...that even when I make my lists, I STILL forget something!!

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  10. Thanks Marti. It's good to know I'm not alone in my list making.

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  11. Leanne-
    I'm not quite there yet but I'm close. I arrange my lists in a certain order on my kitchen table, essentially making a list of the lists themselves.

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  12. Well Keli, I'm here. It's day three and I have yet to need something that I didn't pack so I must have done something right. Go me!

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  13. Aunt Becky-
    I'm really anal about coming home with clean clothes. It makes the unpacking much more pleasant.

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  14. Maribeth-
    Yep, I'm with you. I'm the queen of starting projects and not finishing them. I get distracted and move on to a different, usually much more lofty project and forget what my original goal was.

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  15. Thanks Jacquelyn. I love a clever title. I was pretty proud of myself when I thought of it.

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  16. Thanks Melinda. You too. Have fun on your trip.

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  17. Janine-
    Thanks for stopping by. Off to check out your blog...

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  18. Candice-
    It wouldn't be a family vacation if you didn't forget something!

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  19. Awww...I make lists for everything! You are not alone!

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