The top of the list

Well.
I almost couldn’t believe that it had been 6 months since I wrote. That seems impossible. Impossible that I’ve not posted since May. Impossible that it’s been almost 6 months since May.
I’ve become a cliche in the way I discuss and lament the passing of time.
I’ve also discovered you can rein it in and make it work for you if you really try. It seems to be all about priorities. What you decide will get done, gets done. Other stuff may not. But the thing you put at the top of the list gets done. I guess it becomes all about what’s at the top of that list.
The top of my list has been a moving target. The kid that needs that day’s attention. Dry cleaning (Todd will disagree that this one has ever made even the top 3 of my list). Scrambling to get to the store because I didn’t pre-plan dinner. Scrambling to make dinner (it’s not my gift). Spending time with various important people in my life. Etc.

There have been goals in my life over the course of the last 20 years that have been super important to me emotionally, but clearly haven’t been at the top of my priorities list. That means they really aren’t that important. It also means they don’t get done. I’ve been “trying to lose 40 pounds” for about 9 years. I’ve also been wanting to get a book published. When discussing the latter dream with Todd, he said,

“You know what you need to get a book published?”

“No, what?” I asked.

“You need a book.”

Huh. Well, that’s oversimplified, but quite a true statement.

I needed a book, but none of this was at the top of the list.

Life went on.

As some know, I lived in the country for 3 years. For 3 years, I drove. And drove. And drove. And I met strange folks and wonderful folks. And a dude named Paul burned what had to be something illegal in burn barrels out front. And I ran into more than 1 angry pit bull. Per day. And I dreamed. As I drove or biked or walked, I dreamed. About who was in the houses I passed. About who would have THAT MUCH trash on their porch and THAT MANY geese in their front yard. About the man who constantly sat out in front of the Shell station in his camp chair with his cooler.

From that, came an idea. That idea turned into a conversation. That conversation became chapters 1-5 2 years ago. And then those chapters got pushed aside.
Not at the top of the list.

3 weeks ago, a college student posted that she was taking the leap and signing up for Nanowrimo.org. That stands for National Novel Writing Month. In the month of November, people sign up to write 50,000 words. You don’t pay anything and you don’t really win anything. The prize is completion. The prize is that you finish something.

When my friend posted that she was doing this, a bell went off in my head. It felt like a sign. Like it was finally time.  So I signed up and pulled out the ideas I had sketched out before. And I started writing again. The challenge runs from November 1-30. Here it is November 1 and my word count is 13,820. This morning I figured out a big piece to my puzzle. It is all I think about right now.

It is the top of the list. It is the entire list. At least until November 30.

Because of that, I get creative with other items on the list. Last week, I cleaned out the van by opening all the doors and using the leaf blower. Because vacuuming wasn’t on the list. And I gotta tell you…it’s not the worst idea I’ve had.

So if your dream is on the back burner, decide if it really is your dream. If it is, rewrite your list and put the dream at the top.

See ya in 35,000 words or so…or in 6 months.