Wednesday 20 January 2010

Reducing One's To-do List

Like most people, I like to feel that I have some kind of control over my life.
Sometimes, in order to create this feeling, I make little lists, either on paper or in my head: you know, sort of "things I would like to accomplish before the end of the week" lists.
They are modest yet worthy aims, such as "buy nappies" or "phone a friend."

And yet, there are phases, like mid-January with two small kids, when the illusion of control becomes virtually impossible to uphold.
We are fighting a losing battle against tummy bugs, coughs, rain, broken cars-that-must-be-repaired, oh - another tummy bug...
So gradually, we must learn to let go, give up the hope of achieving anything, and just make it through the day in one piece.

Hard as it is to shelve my"To-do" list with not a single item ticked off, I am learning that some days, when 9 pm finally swings round and my two boys are tucked up in bed, fed (not well fed, but fed) and not covered in sick... well, that's enough.
It's not much, but it's a day well lived.

2 comments:

Les canadiens said...

Ah oui, je pense que je comprends très bien ton sentiment et le plus effrayant c'est que pour le moment je n'en ai qu'un !
Allez je suis solidaire avec toi, on va y arriver !!
Gros bisous, je pense à toi
Rose-Marie

AFG said...

Oh, I SO know what you mean. I'm keeping up with my to do list, but loosing the battle against losing things. And heaven forbid I should ever have to change my leaving-the-house-in-the-morning routine; it's just a recipe for disaster and forgetting everything.