I have a list fetish. I mean, simply put, I love lists. If I don't have a list when I go to the store, I am lost. If I don't have a list when I go to clean, nothing gets done. Just my way of trying to keep on top of things and not being caught with my pants down.My mother loved lists. She died over 30 years ago, but she was a list maker extraordinaire when she was alive. I would find these lists scattered all over the house, but never paid it any mind. When she died, one particular list I found tucked in a notebook became one of her legacies she left to me without ever realizing it.
You see, my mother made the best damn spaghetti in the world. And wouldn't you know it, a month after I get married, she dies. Now, I'm no Betty Crocker, so I didn't have any knowledge of how to make spaghetti except for memory. I did it exactly as I remembered to do, only there was always something missing from it. Years later, I came across a notebook she had jotted down several lists in - grocery store lists mainly, but wouldn't you know it...there was her list for the store for the ingredients to make her famous spaghetti sauce.
It was then I realized what I had left out. MUSHROOMS. I hate mushrooms! And then I remembered picking them out every time she made spaghetti and even as many times as I pleaded for her to leave them out, she said it wouldn't be the same and I'd have to pick them out or I wouldn't eat. So, pick I did.
I still couldn't bring myself to add those horrible things, but if not for the list she left, I would have never discovered the mystery to making her famous spaghetti sauce.
So, never underestimate the value of lists. Are you a list maker?
I always make to-do lists and shopping lists--don't know that I love them, but sure helps me organize.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn a.k.a. F. M. Meredith
http://fictionforyou.com
Thanks for your comment, Marilyn!
ReplyDeleteI looooooove lists. :) And I love mushrooms!
ReplyDeleteI never write anything down (except for my work schedule) I am one of those people that walk back and forth in the grocery store because I think of something else I need. It's horrible. I keep promising myself I am going to get organized but it never happens.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I make a list is when we go out of town and then I will write down and mark off what I need to take, other than that I am hopeless.
I am a list maker to an extent. I feel more organized when I make one, that's for sure and if we are traveling, I HAVE to make a list so that I don't forget anything. The worst part is, I will have a grocery list, and by the time I get the kids and everything loaded up, half the time I forget the dang list, lol!
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