It’s one of those days. It’s pouring rain, and while it’s no snowpocalypse, it is the California version of a bitch slap from Mother Nature. It’s 11 a.m and I’m still in my fluffy bathrobe (no work today), and I’m sitting in between three dogs. I didn’t call any of them to me, they all just gravitated over, instinctively knowing that we could all find a cozy level of bliss by snuggling.
Now I ask you, how can I leave the couch under these circumstances? There’s a lot I could (should) be doing right now. Laundry, for one. It would take very little time and energy to get up and turn the machine on. My mom and I have been trying to clean out the house’s spare room for about 3 weeks–I could work on it and surprise her with an HGTV-like vision. Or I could tidy up elsewhere in the house. Just past my laptop’s screen, there’s a pile of jackets that are demanding to be hanged up. I have a bad habit of coming home and just dropping my jacket wherever I take it off. It’s dramatic (picture me throwing the frock over a chair and flopping down, back-of-hand to forehead), and it’s lazy (if I go out again, the jacket’s right there), and I’m working on correcting it. There’s about a cup and a half of coffee left in the pot–I could go heat it up, have a cookie. I could get dressed, brush my hair, read the newspaper, repair the 3 broken necklaces sitting on my dresser, make cookies, read a book, write a letter, or get back to the soul-sucking job hunt.
I like making To-Do lists. I made them all the time at school and sometimes my To-Do lists even had sub-lists, steps within steps. I know people who hate To-Do lists because seeing everything laid out in black-and-white (or purple, I like to write in purple) is overwhelming and intimidating and depressing. I like it. I live for crossing things off my lists–it’s satisfying and thrilling and motivating.
This morning, when it was raining so hard that it felt like I was in a bunker, I realized I haven’t made a To-Do list in a long time. There’s clearly something wrong here. I know that it was probably more necessary when I was in school and had, in addition to other work, four or more essays to write at any given time. I’m aware that my current internship is only part-time and is not all that demanding. But still, my To-Do list epiphany was a little sad.
So now you’re thinking that I must have made it my new mission to find more things to do, to feel more fulfilled. You would think so, wouldn’t you? But it’s still raining. And I’m still squeezed between snoring dogs. And Say Yes To the Dress just came on tv. In a little while I’ll put a load of laundry in, and I’ll probably worry some more about the state of my life while I’m sorting whites from colors. But you know what? I won’t worry too much. I think my To-Do blues will all come out in the wash.
I know. That was terrible, I’m sorry. I’ll put “work on puns” and “write better endings to blog posts” on my next To-Do list.
Oh My Words! 