The List

I've always liked lists. (Not that that makes me unique; see this blog, for example.) I make lists of things to do, but I also like to make other, less useful, lists: things that make me happy, things I don't like, words I like to use, and so forth. I used to think I was so clever because I'd answer questionnaires (you know the getting-to-know-you ones you always get in church classes and so forth) by crossing out their standard questions ("Favorite treat?") and replacing them with my own ("Favorite green vegetable? Favorite transitive verb?" etc.).

It seems you see lists all over the place now (15 Things in my refrigerator! 100 things to do before I die! 10 Things I never told anyone! etc) and I wonder, what do we see in them? Is it lazy to write that way? Have we lost the art of the essay; the well-crafted argument; the thesis that unfolds bit by bit until the ending reveals itself as inevitable?

And what about lists of "things I want to do someday": are they just trendy ways of bragging about how "well-rounded" you are/will be because you've been cliff-diving, while leaving out the less tangible, but much more important, things that make you into a worthwhile person? (does anyone have "Hold my tongue and smile when I feel like making a sarcastic remark" on their "life list"?)

I thought this was a good, if slightly cynical, point about the "life list":

Over the past few days I've learned about Life Lists, the effort of baby boomers and others to inject meaning into their lives by writing down a list of things they want to accomplish before they die. Popular items include run a marathon, sky dive, and be kissed in the rain. So far I haven't seen anyone list the ambition of the Jean-Pierre Melville character in Godard's "Breathless" -- to become immortal
and then to die.

There's nothing new, of course, about writing down life objectives. And thanks to the current fad, we're learning plenty about certain folks who came up with Life Lists as youngsters and subsequently were able to check most of the boxes. To me this quest sounds dangerously like letting a teenager tell you what to do.

Hmm. It's true, I certainly don't think the lists I made in Young Womens of "Things I want in my future husband" were prophetic, or even useful ("Plays the drums"? Really? I thought that was a must-have?), and by no means do I see most of my teenage aspirations as important to accomplish now---but like I said, I still like lists. For me, they aren't the way I like to do goal-setting, but for entertainment and categorization purposes, they're fun to write, fun (for me, anyway) to read, and they're a good way for me to get writing when the "well-crafted essay" eludes me. [Surely there are even things best expressed in a list? Maybe I'll steer clear of the "life list," though, and try to "inject meaning" into my life some other way. :)] Maybe, if you have nothing better to do, some of you can think up some good lists (of whatever!) and post them on your own blogs this week. I'd like that.

With that said, perhaps you'll indulge me as I present the following?:

13 Things I would like to do before bed this evening:
Eat another cookie
Brush my teeth
Watch this again
Be kissed in the rain (just kidding . . . but kissed in the house would be nice)
Smell my sleeping, bathy boys
Get Sam to fluff my pillow (he's the best fluffer)
Put away the clean dishes
Lock the front door
Avoid stepping on any toys on the way upstairs
Admire the vacuum lines in the living room carpet
Make Sam laugh
Quote a line from "The Scarlet Pimpernel"
Remember that thing I was supposed to do tomorrow