To-Do Lists

To-do lists...I like them.  I have a perpetual list on the counter.  However, much to my dismay, it seems to be never ending.

I have learned a lot about how I tick since having my twins and moving into the role of being a stay-at-home mom.  One thing I have been surprised to discover is that I base my current feeling of self-worth on what I accomplish.  And with 4 busy boys, sometimes it's really hard to see what I've accomplished by the end of the day - the house looks the same, maybe a little messier than it did in the morning; food was cooked and eaten with nothing to show for it but a load in the dishwasher;  the basket of laundry is still there, only it might have clean clothes in it rather than dirty.  There is nothing for me to look at and think with pride that a task has been accomplished.

That's where to-do lists come in.  It's something tangible I can look at and see a line scratched through a task (or hopefully many tasks) representing something that has gotten done.  It's then that I feel my day has been successful.  That I have offered something to the world around me. 

Oh I know, spending my time raising my boys is an accomplishment.  But it's something that is going to take a lifetime.  Hopefully I get better at it everyday as I've learned a little more about them and myself.  In the meantime, I need these little boosts of self-worth to help me reach the ultimate goal.

Today's task is the piled laundry room.  It's my catch-all space for the things that I don't take the time to put away right away.  Months of catching-all has finally caught up - I need more than a pathway to get to the Christmas decorations.  Interestingly I will also be re-organizing the 2 bathrooms, the hall closet, the cold cellar and office area at the same time...don't ask.

Can I do it?  I really think it is possible.  I am already looking forward to scratching it off today's to-do list...