Friday, December 16, 2011

A Passion for List Writing

Things to Love about Making Lists:

1.) Starting off with a frivolous entry, just because you can! Topping my Christmas list every year since I was literate: a pony.
2.) Practicing parallel construction! Because you just took a copyediting course, and you're an epic nerd.
3.) Scribbling (if working on paper).
4.) Color coding (if working on Word or Excel).
5.) Thinking about what my brothers and sister want for Christmas.
6.) Thinking about what Stevie wants for Christmas.
7.) Thinking about what I want for Christmas.
8.) Singing to self, "All I Want for Christmas Is You," the Mariah Carey version. There is no other version. Don't start.
9.) Checking things off, with big, swishy, inky check marks. I swoon for inky pens.
10.) Striking things through. I don't know which I like better between checking and striking. They're both so good. It really depends on the list.
11.) Feeling a sense of accomplishment! To quote my materfamilias: "I love writing lists. It's like getting things done."
12.) Perusing old lists of yore. For example, the Christmas list in which my brother Bruce, six years old at the time of writing, requested "gold," "silver," a "hullmeat" (sic), and other brilliantly spelled viking accessories.
13.) Bringing back the phrase, "Number one with a bullet!" Not only is it pithy, it's true. Things really do sound more important when they're in list, numbered, bulleted, or otherwise.
14.) Sleeping soundly at night. You don't have to worry about it! It's on the list!

Happy list writing! Happy shopping! Happy checking, striking, and scribbling! And most importantly, happy Christmas!!