Lists, Lists, Lists
By Jill Montgomery

I found myself making a list for this story the other morning and running over in my head all the points I was planning on making in a column about lists. I planned on mentioning the list I most often write, which is for groceries. The most fun-to-write list includes my birthday and Christmas wishes, which I make four copies of, one for each of my children.

Then there is the ever-changing dream list where I jot down things I’d do if I won the lottery. The longest list is the one where I write down things that I really need to do around the house before cold weather sets in. Fix back steps; replace the bathroom window…

But while I was organizing that list, I decided I’d better start a vacation list for all the food I was supposed to bring and the meals that I was going to whip up in my spare time. That list segued into a grocery list, because most of the things I said I’d make I didn’t have in the cupboards. Let me see, muffin mix, saltines, carrots…

Unfortunately, about halfway down that list, I got sidetracked and headed down the hall to my bedroom, because one of the suppers I am supposed to make is spaghetti. The last time I made spaghetti, I was at my youngest daughter’s home in North Carolina and that reminded me that I’d better find my suitcase, which I haven’t used in five months, or I was going to have a tough time getting it packed for vacation, if I couldn’t even find the darn thing!

I located my suitcase in the back of the closet behind the early Christmas presents I’ve bought. Which made me wonder where the list is that I wrote those on so I wouldn’t spend way more for one child over the others, because, believe me, they do keep track and compare!

I thought if I didn’t make a list of all the clothes I needed to bring on our summer vacation, I was bound to end up with way too many sweatshirts and not enough shorts and tank tops. So I started a list for that as well: three sweatshirts, four pairs of socks, a bathing suit and towel, Band-Aids, sunscreen… Which brought me back to the kitchen where the bug spray and sunscreen are kept by the front door for my grandson and me when we go out weeding in the flower garden.

Which is when I spied the original list for food that I started to make before way too many side trips. The list was on the back of an envelope, which I hadn’t realized was intended for mailing the electric bill. I never seem to be able to find a piece of paper when I need to make a list. I have paper somewhere, it just always seems to be easier to find an empty envelope and start writing.

I have a longstanding tendency to write on envelopes and once kept three years worth of financial records for the Sports Boosters on the back of a big yellow envelope. When I handed the whole thing over to my replacement, she seemed a little surprised by my method of record-keeping.

Besides writing on envelopes, I always seem to start off writing quite big and then end up having to squish the bottom half of the list and write around the edges and quite often have no idea where I started the list and where I ended up.

I use the calendar by my door for lists as well. I list when my grown children have softball or baseball games so I can try to get to one or two of those a season. I jot down when they’re coming over for supper so I can have something ready besides "rabbit food," as my son calls it.

I list upcoming birthdays on the calendar. I get the dates off the birthday list that I keep on the side of the fridge, that I try to look at the first of each month. I also list things like doctor appointments and oil changes, meetings and all the other stuff I know I’d forget if I didn’t have it written down somewhere.

The older I get, the more I find that I really need lists. I hate getting home from the grocery store and finding out that I got bologna, which I already had, but still didn’t buy any bread. It annoys me when I buy a book from my favorite author only to discover I already have one on the bookshelf.

But what would really land me in hot water would be if I forgot to send my mother a card in time for her birthday!

So, the lists stay and maybe on the next shopping list, I’ll remember to write down paper, so I can send the electric bill off in the envelope it was intended to go in.

Jill D. Montgomery lives in Braintree where the list of things to do before vacation is growing daily!