You know what I haven’t done yet? A single thing on my New Year’s list of things to do. I haven’t bought a new dress. I haven’t painted the hallway (there’s a bigger remodel there that I’m waiting on). Jake still doesn’t have a baby album, and instead of writing a new book I’ve been revising the first one.
I like to-do lists and wish lists actually. I never have a wish list unless I’m pretty satisfied with life. And to-do lists are good because they give me something to look forward to. It would be awful to think you were done in life, wouldn’t it?
Still, I don’t like those moments – usually between 5 and 6 p.m., LIKE CLOCKWORK, when I’ve just finished work and I’m busy with supper and every single thing that’s out of place or left undone screams at me that my long-term to-do list looks exactly like it did months and months ago and it’s bound to look the same FOREVER. Poor Michael. He doesn’t even ask what’s wrong anymore when it’s that time of day, and I open the dishwasher a little harder than necessary and put spoons on the counter with emphasis.
So, in light of that, I am loving the delightful satisfaction of checking things off the list, here and there, the thrill of actually finishing something, of starting one week with a few more things completed than in the week before. Here are some of the things I’ve done lately to get that feeling.
Snapfish – I used to upload all my digital pictures to Snapfish.com with the goal that I would print them out eventually. (I still like albums you can flip through; I’m old-fashioned like that). But, you can probably see where I’m going with this. I stopped ordering actual prints about October of 2003. So I have some catching up to do, and it thrills me to no end to order a bunch and get that brightly-colored envelope in the mail, and then – more importantly – to tuck my memories into pretty albums and put them on our shelves. I love that feeling. And along these lines, I have ordered prints of the photographs from Jake’s birth and his first few weeks at home, so I’m at least one step toward that resolution at least.
Betsy-Tacy – Mom got me the first Betsy-Tacy book for Christmas, because of our blog-friend Katie who loves them. But I didn’t get to it until last week. You may know I once gave Anne of Green Gables to my niece and namesake, Nola Serenity, and wrote in it that when she read it someday, she’d be reading pieces of me. And that’s how it felt to read a beautiful children’s book that I knew Katie loved. And I didn’t realize until the very last chapter when Betsy and Tacy meet Tib that this is the very book Kathleen Kelly talks about in You’ve Got Mail when she says of Tib, “Whose real name, I’m sorry to say, is Thelma.” You know, Anne of Green Gables is mentioned fondly in that movie too, and suddenly it was like sitting down with Katie, Maud Hart-Lovelace, Lucy Maud Montgomery, and Kathleen Kelly as we all just gushed about the literature we love.
Audrey Hepburn – I’ve now seen Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Sabrina, and Roman Holiday thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law Mary who gave them to me for my birthday. My old-movie repertoire was sadly lacking and now feels much more complete. Roman Holiday, incidentally, was my first Gregory Peck flick. I now have a huge crush on Gregory Peck and feel I should buy a poster of him for my wall. Felicity said Michael might not like that, but all he said was, “He’s dead, right?” And speaking of my crush on Gregory Peck…
To Kill a Mockingbird – I finally bought this book that I have never read. I haven’t seen the movie either (with my aforementioned crush). And my life, as a person rather fond of words, feels a bit less fraudulent now. I haven’t finished reading it yet, but since reading it is such a delight, I don’t plan to hurry.
And that’s just the beginning. But it gives you an idea. I also clean the kitchen, sort through the boys’ not-so-endless-when-I-actually-take-the-time-for-it mound of paperwork, do a load of laundry, write in my journal, blog, or download a new song from iTunes. It’s the little things that squelch the five p.m. blues. What are your small, satisfying accomplishments that serve to keep you sane?
*Photo by tellmewhat2 on Flickr.
You may think I’m a little crazy. But I clean. When I am completely overwhelmed with work and life in general, I put my hair up in a clip (okay I shove it, who am I kidding) put on rubber gloves. And I scrub. It’s the one thing I can control that has a shiny, fresh smelling outcome.
PS do you have the DVD, To Kill A Mockingbird?
Sometimes, I write stuff I’ve already completed on my To Do List, just so I can mark it off. So I hear you but even if you haven’t gotten around to everything, you are having a wonderful summer.
I wish I could go back and read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD for the first time.
I might on occasion be tempted to think of myself as a movie person. But, normally, I remember people like you and think I surely don’t qualify as anything more than a movie-liker. So, my chin really hit the floor when I read that you’d never seen a film with Gregory Peck. I suppose I have my father’s love of old movies to thank for my acquaintance, so you shouldn’t blame yourself. But…wow! No Gregory Peck!
I’m SO glad you loved Betsy-Tacy!! The whole series is truly a delight, though I think my faves are Betsy and the Great World (when she travels Europe) and Betsy’s Wedding. My sister is named after her, but sometimes I feel like she’s me, on the page.
And yay for Gregory Peck, in Roman Holiday and in To Kill A Mockingbird. I just reread the latter this summer, and it’s as powerful as it was when I read it in 9th grade. Maybe more so.
My small accomplishments include doing dishes, baking, hanging stuff on the walls (we just moved), and writing blog entries. Somehow this keeps me sane.
Tiff, I clean too. It’s taken me years to admit that it works, but cleaning the kitchen seriously cleans my soul.
Alison, I love that line – “I wish I could read it for the first time again.” Now I’m even more determined to suck the marrow from the experience.
And Den, oh gosh, I know. More fraudulence. Have you seen The Holiday? An old Hollywood writer gives her a list of movies to see? (The women in them all have gumption). I need a list like that.
Katie – I looked up the series online when I was through. I can’t believe how many there are! Can you imagine that nowadays? Writing a book about a 5-year-old and getting book deals for the series up until she’s married?
Anything that feels like I’m progressing toward or staying organized always feels good to me! :-) Love your list!
I love when you said you put spoons down with emphasis. I do the same thing and it sounds so much more mature than slamming doors and banging things around!! I love lists. I have many lists of projects left undone. I was going to do them over my maternity leave or when Megan started sleeping all night or over the summer…you get the idea. Scratching the smaller items off of the list helps me to believe that someday I will have it all together!
Lists……….I used to make them, no more. I feel if I get something accomplished, finished I’ve done well….age brings this on I think. :)
Gregory Peck..oh my goodness what can I say. I’ve seen so many of his movies, I have a bunch. Some of the earlist ones like Roman Holiday are simply wonderful…beyond description. For some of his more obscure roles, yet some of his best I recommend The Keys to the Kingdom, and The Red and the Black. He plays a priest in both. Excellent stories the later based on a true story.
The is a biography on him as well that I’ve seen that shows him to be just exactly who you think he is. I think that is why I fell in love with the “old” leading men. Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewert, Cary Grant, Bob Hope they were wonderful on and off screen. Hope you get to watch them both.
Audrey Hepburn was actually the inspiration behind us naming Audrey. After seeing what her life became and reading some of her quotes, I’m so glad we did. She was a wonderful lady. Oh, and My Fair Lady–one of our Audrey’s favorite movies :)
Love this post!
I read this post with such delight! I love To Kill a Mockingbird, and you must watch the movie! The moment when Atticus prepares to walk out of the courtroom after the trial….well I won’t say what happens, but I get a lump in my throat every time. You know, we all spend too much time on those have-to-dos and not enough time on the want-to-dos. Go for the wish list first!
Maybe you should get Netflix or something and order To Kill a Mockingbird and let it play in the background while you work. That’s how I get my classics read….
To kill a Mockingbird is on my favorite movie list. Atticus shows us one of the definitions of a real man in that movie. When you watch it look for Robert Duval, it was either his first, or one of his first movies. Definitly one of the classics.
Absolutely agree that you should watch To Kill a Mockingbird. Fabulous movie! Gregory Peck’s also in a good movie called Spellbound with Ingrid Bergman (who is also fabulous by the way).
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