Sandy Supposes....

To List Or Not To List

PROMPT March 2nd

Write about the practice of making lists. Does list-making stifle creativity, or enhance it? When working on a big project, does making a list help organize your thinking, or cause you to feel more overwhelmed? Are you a habitual list maker, and if so, what do you list?          

         

         

         

         Lists a necessary evil or a blessing? Hmmm...perspective is everything. Sometimes, I create a compilation of facts, anecdotes, snippets of conversation, and a rough outline before I attempt to write a story, but is it a list per se? I prefer to view it as a story enhancer. In the construction stage, my thoughts are all a jumble and clamouring for centre stage. Heaven forbid that a worthy idea slip through the cracks.

         Oh, there's always a mental list updating itself in my brain and for some perverse reason it insists upon a recap while I struggle to sleep. In the corporate world these would be addendums. Sigh, the sub-paragraphs are relentless.

         Now as for actual lists scratched out on a pre-labelled pad inscribed with the admonishing header, 'Things To Do', yes, I confess I've availed myself of their services. Trying to be an efficient domestic engineer and all that that entails, I dutifully conduct inventory of the pantry. If I discover a staple to be absent, I make a note of it. The trouble with this is that the list does not accompany me when I venture out to shop. I require an autonomous list, one capable of realizing I've forgotten it, and one willing to chase me down to deliver it to me. Ah, wait, what I really need is an assistant.

         I usually create plans on paper, an itinerary, for trips away from home. The act of scribbling down necessities helps to jog my memory when I'm running around stuffing a suitcase. Having an inkling of just what I may be doing or where I might be roaming, colours my choices of apparel. Then again, I live in Canada, and the weather is moody, so, packing a jacket is habit. Alas, this form of listing is not foolproof either.

         My youngest sister and her two daughters are the undisputed queens of lists. In their respective garages sit stacks of plastic blue storage bins. Each bin wears a list, or a tag that reveals its contents. Inside their homes, is a master list of the storage lists. They approach shopping as a military mission. Their lists are organized according to raid coordinates, er, I mean stores. I suspect, they even map the locations of their desired objects by aisle numbers. I've spied price comparisons on their lists, alternate sources, and references to each other's lists. They never dare to leave home without a handful of lists. My sibling even writes a master list of her smaller lists. I suppose this is her back-up, her fail safe.

         When my nieces were younger, their mother posted a weekly list on the fridge that presented seven days of meals. Yep, she is a super planner! I called it their menu.

         While sitting quite comfortably on a beach in Cuba a few years ago, my two daughters, my daughter-in-law, and moi penned a very important list. To some this list might seem to be an informal bequeathment, my last will and testament. It's scrawled upon the inside cover of the journal I scribbled in at the time. We hashed out who inherits what of my humble jewellery. Apparently, I am not expected to take it with me to my grave. I do hope they enjoy their future treasure hunt. I will be leaving boxfuls of journals behind.