I'm addicted to lists; I admit it - especially these days when my memory has the holding power of a sieve. I will forget to do something as I'm walking from one room to the other to go do it. Oh, mommy brain, why?
This is why I write my lists down or, in the case of long ones, keep them on my blog. I love to see other people's 101 in 1001 lists and think about things I'd like to do on my next 101.
Then there are the life lists; they're like 101 lists but not limited to a 1001 day timespan and they tend to include some more complicated or "pipe dream" type items. Maggie of Mighty Girl has her Mighty Life List (which is so awesome and includes things like go dog sledding, swim with bioluminescent plankton in Puerto Rico - which she did! - and wear a large hat at the Kentucky Derby) but she recently added a list of 100 Skills Everyone Should Master.
A list dictating things "everyone" should be able to do? My mind reads that and hears, "Challenge!" As I looked through the list, I felt good because many of the items are things I either know or believe I can do - and, if I can't, they're things I do feel I should be able to do.
The key difference with this list is that these aren't things you're just supposed to have tried or done; they're things you're supposed to be able to do (well). Here are the first ten items on the list (supplemental links from the original Mighty Girl post):
1. Set goals
This one's easy. I love to set goals but more than that, I love to accomplish those goals.
2. Keep a plant alive
Yeah, not so good at this one. Will work on it one day when I don't have a baby or puppy around (i.e. years from now).
3. Care for a baby:
How to Hold a Newborn Baby
The Five Ss from The Happiest Baby on the Block will soothe most fussy babies
Well, yes, this would be a good one to know. I do know the information given in those two links, but I want to learn more (and will, by necessity).
4. CPR
A pregnant friend of mine is taking an infant CPR class - something that never occured to me to do, but I think is an excellent idea. I have to see where there's one around. I learned some CPR in high school - both adult and child - but that was *cough cough* nearly 20 years ago.
5. Feel confident naked
Hm, maybe in my next life. But truthfully, I feel pretty good these days, but I think a lot of that comes from being married. I feel 90% confident around my husband - but if something were to happen and I had to date someone new, that confidence would tank. So I'm not truly confident naked, but I'm working on it.
6. Interview for a job
I'm pretty good at this. There have only been two jobs that I've interviewed for that I didn't get (which makes it all the more heartbreaking when I don't get the job because I'm used to getting it).
7. Bake a birthday cake
Done - and tasty (and not from a box).
8. Use a fire extinguisher
I can use one, just haven't had to.
9. Use a compass
Um. Yeah. I learned this in Girl Scouts but was never great at it. I have a terrible sense of direction and a terrible gut understanding of direction; I get turned around really easily. I would be lost in the woods for a long time.
10. Express condolences
This isn't ever easy, but I feel that I'm good at it (as odd as it seems to say it's something one can be good at). I've seen some people be terrible at it, though, so being good at it is definitely worthwhile.
Little by little, I'll post the rest of the list. Check it out if you haven't already. How do you fair?
