List Less

Today did NOT go as planned. I had one kiddo home sick, and the other home from the sheer luck of school being closed due to inclement weather… Between the two of them, my day turned upside down quickly.

Every day, I take a 4 x 6 index card and write down 6 things I MUST get done. The list serves as a guide post throughout my day, reminding me what I should be working on. Usually, I am 6 for 6. Today, my list kept growing , and at 6 p.m., I had a whole new list. I felt, ironically, listless.

Instead of mentally complaining, though, I left the list behind and started making cookies. Cookies for my daughters' elementary school teachers. Cookies that require me to follow a recipe. Cookies that invite 4 little hands eagerly ready to crack open eggs, stir in chocolate chips, and eat every morsel of dough I will allow… Basically, I had to be present, very present. And the list, well, it waited. I was able to re-focus, re-center, and re-energize. I share this with you because while it sounds very zen-like of me, it is actually more like a major divergence from my Type A tendencies. I decided to stop worrying about what I needed to get done to feel happy, and I consciously chose to do something for someone else. And I am here to tell you, not only did it work, BUT I survived and am very happy about it.