monday's mulling: smiling and writing lots of lists

It's the Monday before Thanksgiving. The kids - all eight of them (my 4 + 2 sons-in-law + 1 daughter-in-law + 1 fiancée), two little grandsons, and one dog - will fill the house. One of the Chicago crew is already here, the other Chicago bunch and the Cleveland bunch will arrive on Tuesday, and my Dayton son and his fiancee are just around the corner. Fresh sheets are on the beds, bathrooms are spotless, cribs are ready for the little ones, the refrigerator is at that delicate balance where there's food ready to eat but room to spare for the Thanksgiving fixings.

I like to write my lists by hand - planning the menu, then writing my grocery list with each dish and its ingredients listed. Then comes the official list that goes with me to the grocery store. In this you-can-do-everything-on-your-phone age, I'm an anachronism as I carry my list and scratch through the items as they're place in my cart. 

Christmas is one month from today...yikes! With Thanksgiving being so late, the transition to Christmas is a quick one. The kids will be back in three weeks to celebrate the family Christmas. The list writing for Christmas has begun: decorating, gifts, menus, lots and lots of to-dos. Seeing all of this "stuff" on paper is overwhelming but at the same time therapeutic. This is a road map to my goals and boy, oh boy, the miles are piling up quickly!