Do you remember this song by the Go Go's? Do you remember the Go Go's? Were you born after the Go Go's broke up and Belinda Carlisle went on to have a mediocre solo career so you have no recollection of them except for the 80s weekends on the radio when they play "Vacation"? It doesn't really matter. This is not about the Go Go's. But it does relate to one of their songs that resonates with me to this day.
Hello. My name is Cherie, and I am a compulsive list maker.
I love making lists. I get great joy out of categorizing the world according to my own labels. Need to make a grocery list? Hooray! Honey-do list? Sweet! New Year's Resolutions? Nirvana! And these lists are simply the tip of the ship-sinking ice burg.
One of my favorite things about my iPhone is that I can create these lists on a whim, and store them so they are always at my fingertips. Songs on the radio that I heard and want to see if the artist has recorded anything else decent. Books I want to check out. Places to vacation. Activities and crafts to make with my daughter. Ways to improve my health and well-being. And my favorite list....Things that Make Cherie Happy. This is a compilation of things that make me smile, and things that I'd be happy to accumulate. For instance, my favorite perfume is on the list (Have) as well as a fluffy Turkish bath robe (Have not). It really comes in handy around birthdays and holidays when someone asks you what you want. Most of the time I draw a blank, which I think is a good sign because I do feel that I already have a very rich and fulfilling life. But that can be frustrating to the potential gift-giver. This gives me an arsenal of ideas; things that I really would like, from inexpensive trifles to "only if someone dies" kind of gifts. And it does help to hinder (though not entirely prohibit) receiving moose emblazoned napkin rings.
The other purpose for this list is that on bluesy days I can read over it and it is an emotional pick-me-up. Ceylon tea with mint Milano cookies. Meryl Streep movies. My favorite sheets on the bed. The earthy smell that rises up when it rains. I can't help but smile when I read this very sensory list.
I also find lists littered all over my office and home on bits and scraps of paper, the back of an envelope, a sticky-note. Some topics I've written down many times, others are new categories, but I resist throwing them away, unless they are able to be compiled into a MASTER list. Now, one might mistakenly think that with all this list-making that I am uber organized. Not so. List making does not translate on its own into doing. My follow-through...now, that's something that still needs some work. But in the meantime, I'm ready...making lists.
You may even be on one of them.
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