Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Listaholics Anonymous



Hello, my name is Heather, and I'm a listaholic.


"Hi, Heather!"

There, I admitted it.  I'm addicted to lists.

In my head, on paper, on my Google home page, on a white board.   Especially on a white board.

I've even been known to do a chore that's NOT on my list, then write it down and cross it off.

Sick, I know.

But see, here's the thing:  as a mom, and a homeschooling mom at that, much of my work is never done.

Wake, dress, feed, school, drive, clean, love, hug, read, sleep.  Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

And my lists?  They take me to that Happy Place.  You know, the "Hey!  I did something!" place.

I even have one dear friend whose husband gave her great advice;  instead of focusing on what you didn't get done in your day, focus on what you did accomplish.  Even if it's along the lines of, "changed 6 stinky diapers" or "trained 5-year old not to talk with mouth full". 

The biggest danger for me, however, is making an idol out of My List.  Putting My List ahead of the people in my life.  The precious souls that God has given to me, to impact for His glory, to love in His name.   I'm constantly tempted to focus on the "things" that need doing and not the people who need loving.

So now, if you'll excuse me. . . . I have a 5-year old who would really like to hear a story.

And besides. . . . . .

(Blogging is not on my list!!!)

3 comments:

Rebekah said...

"I've even been known to do a chore that's NOT on my list, then write it down and cross it off.

Sick, I know."

Well, it's not really sick if there are others out there who are JUST LIKE YOU! :) This is Rebekah, Joy W.'s daughter. We saw you at church today... Anyways, I saw your email and checked out your blog. Just wanted to inform you that I also am a "listaholic" and I do that exact same thing: do something that wasn't on my list, write it on my list, and then cross it off! Oh, and if there's one more thing on my list to do before I can throw it away, I do the chore and I DON'T throw it away until I cross it off! Oh horror, no! I have to cross that last thing off (well, I might add) before throwing the list away. So know, Mrs. H, I too am your fellow "listaholic". Have a wonderful day!

Heather said...

Oh, yay and hello to you, Rebekah!!!!

Glad to have another listaholic on board.. . . oh, and be sure to go check out Kathryn's blog (I think it's listed on the side of my blog).

See you soon, I hope!

Rachel Garcia, CD(DONA) said...

this is cute.. and funny. Im not as much a listaholic as i'd like to me. i like making them. aaaand that's about it. haha.. Im joking. but i do get the list going in my head and then struggle with the same thing you mentioned: forgetting the true job. As mom (Darcy) has said before "The children aren't a distraction. They are the job. Everything else is a distraction." something like that.