I List, Therefore I Am

I'm having kind of a panties on backward day already, so please excuse if this post is just a waste of bandwidth. There's been an awful lot going on around here and I'm feeling like I'm fighting for air to catch up. Being me, when I feel overwhelmed I make a list of what I need to do. Then I can do a designated percentage of it and feel like I've actually accomplished something.

The Film Geek officially starts his six week film shoot today, starting off with a bang out of town for a couple of weeks. It's a sad commentary on film production that our family really won't notice much of a difference in the weeks he's here and the weeks he's on location. Either way, he's not here. This means that I get to deal with all the back to school traumas and parent meetings and such by myself. I'm not complaining, mind you. This also means I get to cut my work schedule back to bare bones minimum, which will be a nice respite. And let's face it, I've been a film wife for way too long. I've got the independence factor down pat. If you look up self-sufficient in the dictionary you'll see my picture there. Honest.

It also means that I can get to some projects I've been putting off all summer. I have two motivations for this. First off is that September is my month to host my Bunco group. Don't laugh - this is a huge motivation. The last time most of this bunch saw my house we had only been here a couple of months and nothing really had been done. The second motivator is that my mother-in-law is rumored to be visiting in November and she's never been to this house. Now, I get along beautifully with my MIL (at least as far as I know), but her house is always "done" and I'd like her to think that her only son doesn't live in a bus station environment. (Even if he really does).


So I'm making lists. Lists of areas to paint and projects to get onto and things that still need buying before school starts. Great long lists of furniture to move and files to be set up and fall gardens to be planted. Scary lists of things to do, such as stepping on the scale for the first time all summer, immediately to be followed by calling either a gym or a hoist delivery service depending on the severity of the results. Lists of pep talks and motivational speeches that need to be given to my children before they start a new academic year, even scarier as the eldest is going into High School. How in the world did that happen? Perhaps I need to add a nice cold bottle of Chardonnay to my list of things to buy.

Or two.