My List
Have you started your list? No, I’m not talking Christmas, yet. Your list of 100 things you want to do before you die. It seems to be a trend to list all your fantasies so you don’t forget. Dreams and goals are sneaky, floating in your head one day, only to be replaced the next with worries about feverish kids or mortgage rates. Honestly, I have a hard time with my list. While my husband’s is full of adventure, like sitting through a hurricane and climbing all 54 mountains in Colorado over 14,000 feet, my list is subtle.
I want all white towels. Like hotel towels, nice and thick in every bathroom. Every time I wash towels the clash of colors and textures bothers me. Those designer spread’s, in glossy magazines, display monochromatic mounds of towels. I want that stack.
I want to sleep until 12:00 and stay in my PJs all day, just like in college. I want a day without demands.
I want to watch the sunrise with each of my children. To see their faces when God wakes up the world would be a gift worthy of my top 100.
These are a couple on my list, but really it’s hard for me to fill out. I have a little journal that keeps the list, but I’ve only gotten to 14. If I write it down, I feel beholden to the words, like I’ve made a contract with a magical dream keeper. But lately, I’ve realized, the list doesn’t have to be static. I can make great big X’s through old dreams and come up with new ones.
Dreams are fluid. When I’m 65 I may not want to see the Northern Lights. But tomorrow I’d like to go to Alaska and watch the multi-colored light show I’ve only read about or seen on TV. So instead of looking at my paltry list and feeling stressed by the low number, I’m going to accept the fact that I don’t need 100 things to dream about. Some of the simplest days, the ones when I feel loved and appreciated, the days when a child makes me laugh or stirs my deepest emotions, or I realize my husband has just told me he loves me for the 10,031st time, those days are too special to list as accomplishments or dreams. But those are the things that fill me and sustain me. My journal is too small for that list.
10 Responses to “My List”
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October 30th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
What a great idea! I get so busy with the day-to-day that sometimes I forget that dreams should be part of life. I’ll have to daydream up a list, just because goals of all kinds are important.
I’ve seen the Northern Lights. Most of the time they’re just green, not rainbow colored. Very pretty nonetheless. But the night my daughter was born they were dancing through the sky in every color God ever created. It was wonderful.
October 31st, 2007 at 8:56 am
I get bogged down from my Life To-Do list, but it’s interesting to see that what I really wanted to do at 29 is not even in the back of my mind at 35. It’s a great memory marker.
October 31st, 2007 at 12:32 pm
My husband and I make it a point to knock out one shared item from our lists every year. Some things will probably never happen (the crazy trip to Australia, for one), others are pretty mundane, but still belong there. This year we want to visit the Flight 93 crash site in Somerset County. It’s not glamorous, but it’s something that we both wanted to make sure we do it before it’s too late.
October 31st, 2007 at 9:23 pm
I think I need a list. It would range from going to see the Museum of Glass in Tacoma (a 20 min. drive) to going to see Italy and France.
November 1st, 2007 at 9:28 am
I loved this post! You are so right that the little, everyday moments that take your breath away are the ones that matter the most. Thanks for the reminder.
November 2nd, 2007 at 10:28 am
I think that if you don’t have many things on your list that that would mean that you are pretty content with your life - that would be an excellent thing! See ya.
November 2nd, 2007 at 8:41 pm
I keep a formal list for mundane things: grocery lists, Christmas lists, to-do lists; but my dreams I keep in my heart because I find it hard to pin down something that is constantly evolving. On a crazy afternoon I may dream of the luxury of reading alone while on a hillside in Tuscany without any interruptions, but as soon as things setttle down and my boys are quietly doing homework and there is a pot of chili bubbling on the stove, then my dream evaporates and I want to freeze time in that exact moment.
But I am right there with you on the white towels! I slowly changed over a couple of years ago, and I love how my linen closet now looks with puffy, clean, white towels neatly stacked.
November 2nd, 2007 at 9:49 pm
I love the idea! I think it would be great to make a list of things I want to do in the future. I make list for my day to day living. I have to to make sure i dont forget things1
November 5th, 2007 at 10:20 am
Definately a wonderful idea!
November 6th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Ooooh. You mean I can dream too? It’s not just something I should encourage my kids to do?
I think I might juat have to go out and buy myself a little notebook, this is a really good, no make that great idea. I’m joining in.