Category — Uncategorized

I thought this was a very lovely list, and I recently used it to get over some bruised feelings and then passed it along to someone else going through a disappointment. I think if the goal is to get through the bad feelings and enter into a better emotional space, this list is perfect. If the goal is to fix the situation, prove you were right, or go back in time and do something else, this list will not help.

So go in with just the goal to feel better.

Many years ago, to streamline packing for trips, I drafted a master packing list. The list contains everything I need for any kind of trip, and it even includes things I commonly have with me as a reminder to check my purse before we leave on a trip. (Hello, Tylenol refill, I’m thinking of you.)

Before each trip, I duplicate the list and remove anything not needed for that particular trip. For instance, my passport and boarding pass if we’re not flying. I go through the clothing section of the list, putting in specific amounts for socks or a sweater I want to remember to pack.

Everything else is collected together, and then, as I place the item into the bag, it gets crossed off the list. This all began when I forgot to pack pants and socks on two separate trips.

The master list changes over time. If I wish I had something on one trip, I add it to the list immediately so I don’t forget it on the next one. Life changes and the beach toys were removed from the list while masks and hand sanitizer were added post-COVID.

If you don’t have a master list, start making one today. Maybe it will help you get organized for your next trip.

I was trying to remember something this week, and I wondered if it was written down in an old journal, so I started to thumb through old journals and found one that contained entries from three early trips: a road trip to Canada, Paris, and London.

But what struck me was that in the back of the journal, from the final page moving toward the front, I had written down notes on every photo I took. There were only 24 or 36 photos on a roll of film (though it looked like I must have been able to squeeze an additional one or two onto a roll because I had some lists that stated 26 or 38 photos), so the lists weren’t long. And I only took between two to four rolls on each trip.

But I wrote down notes because I wouldn’t see those photos for weeks. How would I remember that this was a “beautiful building on Rue Rivoli across from the Louvre” three weeks later when I finally developed the picture? The difference today is that you see photos instantly, so you start building those memories from the image instantly. In the olden days, we saw something once, and then we had a long period of time before we saw an image of it again.

It was just funny to find the lists. Even funnier to read about our “romantic kisses over the Seine.”

Mother’s Day didn’t work with the twins’ schedule this year — finals — and nothing is more important than their studies (except their health), so we moved it to a better date on the calendar.

You can do that. You can take any pretend or real holiday, and just move it. Or change it. Or decide not to acknowledge it. Or go all-in.

I mean, it helps if everyone has the same expectation and is on board with the move, but assuming they are, you can literally decide to celebrate Christmas in February, Thanksgiving one week early, or your birthday in a random month.

Is it lovely to mark the actual day? Of course. I will be celebrating my mother today. But it’s also fun to be the only one celebrating something while everyone else believes it to be a random Tuesday.

Whether you are marking the day or avoiding the day, happy Sunday.

There is a social media site that is only open for three hours every day. At all other times, if you click over, it tells you the site is closed and when it will reopen — 7:39pm to 10:39pm ET.

The point, of course, is “Because social media is better when we’re all online together. No endless scrolling. No FOMO. Just 3 hours of fun every evening.”

That was always the joy of live tweeting or Facebooking around big events: Everyone was on at the same time. The feed was chronological; when you stepped into the conversation, you were stepping into the last thing said. Everyone saw your posts in the same order, in real-time. Even if you were just reading and not posting, you felt part of the conversation, like you were listening to someone tell a story at a party.

So it’s kind of a brilliant idea, especially because it’s time-limited. Either you get on while it’s open and talk to people, or you have to wait to see updates the next day.

What do you think?

P.S. I tried it, and it’s pretty quiet right now, but it’s just getting started.