I remember making lists as a child. I still do. I list and list and list. I make grocery lists and lists of chores for the day, lists of things I need to get rid of, lists of things I need to acquire, lists of appointments, and lists of work hours vs working hours.

All the while, I’m figuring out how much time I have to make more lists. There are lists everywhere. The one thing that seldom makes it onto a list is the time when I do none of that.  

Like many busy adults, I don’t make lists for the time when I read a book, take a walk, perform the bologna dance, or dig in the dirt with four eager, muddy little faces beaming back at me. I just fit those things in.

I pause and listen to a wild story of ghost hunts and wilderness discoveries. I take a breath, put down my list and braid a pony’s hair or find the Mega Zord’s missing shield. I have had to learn to accept that some days my list will just be scribbles, left over for tomorrow’s list.

But what if I made a list of all the things I want to do, instead of have to do? Just once. What if the have to’s had to creep in on that day? And I would choose to sigh contented with my list and say, “Tomorrow. There will be other lists.”

Of all the lists I ever made, I never made a list quite like this. Somehow, in my haste to organize my days, free my mind, and still make time for play between the lines… Kaydenc learned to make lists. Only, she’s the right type of Type A. She knows how to just B.