Lists

Do I make lists?  No!  I despise lists.  I do not enjoy being able to check off things I've done.  I get no satisfaction seeing all of the little check marks.  I hate lists.  I suspect, my husband, rather likes lists.  Michael puts sticky notes all over his computer so he knows what needs to be done and when.  He is charmed by his organizational skills.  Years ago, he saw his wife was a bit overwhelmed.  He imagined how wonderful it would be if he could make her life easier by helping her become organized.

In our kitchen hung a whiteboard.  It stood above our corded phone, making it simple to jot down phone messages.  It was highly visible.  One morning, before leaving for work, Michael created a to-do list for me.  What a darling. He mentioned that as each task was completed, I could simply erase it from the marker board.  How accomplished would I feel at the end of the day, when the board was wiped clean?
 
This went on for several days.  Each day, the list grew, as hubby joyously added to it.  Occasionally and very reluctantly, I would wipe off a line or two.  Every evening, upon returning home, Michael would inspect the board.  By the third or forth day, he casually remarked, "Your board is getting full.  What did you do today?  I see you didn't get that phone call made or my shirts ironed. Some of these things have been on there since the first day."  The man clearly had not noticed the furor brewing beneath the surface.

"Of course I got those things done!"  I snapped.  "You wrote them on the board, didn't you????"  Still clueless, he continued with his questions.

"Then why didn't you erase them?" He was becoming dangerously close to me unleashing a torrent of hostility, but I held back.

"I was just a little bit busy with ironing, making phone calls, cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner, changing diapers, and taking care of the kids to come back in here to erase this stupid board."  I didn't actually use the word stupid, but I did enunciate every word crisply and sharply to get my point across.

"But wouldn't it be easier to see what you still had left to do if you erased the tasks you've already done?  That way nothing will get lost in the middle of the list."

I honestly don't remember what else was said that night.  The poor man had no idea how much I hate lists.  But suffice it to say, he has never suggested I make a to-do list  He knows without a doubt that  I find no satisfaction in crossing off all I accomplish in a day-especially when the list is written by someone else.