a to-do list worth checking off

I’ve given myself quite the list of to-do’s prior to baby boy’s arrival. I spent part of Saturday and between church on Sunday tackling a few things on the list. In that time I managed to clean out and organize the kitchen cabinets, clean out the pantry and refrigerator, organize our master bedroom closet, and start packing a hospital bag.

It’s a perfect example of nesting at it’s finest. You know, no closet can be left unorganized, no drawer in disarray.

Clearly, my tiny newborn is going to be so concerned about the cereal boxes being out of place in the pantry, that it just has to be done. There is absolutely no logic to the madness, but it certainly won’t hurt to have a clean and organized house.

Allen has a list too, it mainly involves all things outside and all things basement and garage related. He’s knocking it out, and I wouldn’t trade lists with him if you paid me.

Which brings me to my point, I placed our lists on the refrigerator, so I’m sure to see them and be reminded of what I really need to be doing when I try to sneak a push-up instead of cleaning out a closet. Last night, before bed Allen needed to mark a few more things off his list, and as we were discussing the lists BK joined us, and ask for a list of her own. She made sure to say that she wanted just a few things on her list.

Smart girl.

And then she proceeded to name a few things while I wrote them on a piece of paper, in her own words:

1. play
2. help dad take some stuff to basement 
3. help dad clean up garage
4. go outside and play
5. bake cookies 

 

And I thought, now there’s a to-do list worth checking off. Helping others, playing and baking. I could handle that. She was satisfied with that list and at the end she instructed me not to add anything else, not until we do all those things. 

In a life sometimes driven by a to-do list and responsibilities I don’t particularly like, I thought about how much better things would be if I added some things to my list because they were really worth doing. Sure, things like cleaning out closets and packing hospitals bags are important, but you know what else is important? Baking cookies with my almost 4-year-old and playing outside in this beautiful weather.

Though she’s small, it’s obvious she’s here to teach me a few things, too. I just need to take the time to listen.

Today, as I check things off my various to-do lists, I’ll keep her sweet little list in the forefront of my mind. There’s always a million things I could be doing, but I need to really stop and think about what I should be doing.

And I don’t think what I should be doing is on any list you’ll find in my planner.