Although I have a to-do list, it's not something I normally refer to often. The physical act of writing or typing in an addition to the list is usually enough to make me remember what I need to get done.
But when there is a big project at hand - such as getting our lives in order so that we may leave the country for three weeks - the To-Do List becomes a valued companion, as I free-associate stuff to pack, reservations to arrange, items to organize, etc.
At these times, the list seems to take on a cancerous life of its own, for every time I cross something off I find I must add two or three new items to it.
For instance, last week I hired a pet sitter for the home and a virtual assistant for the home business. I got to cross two items off the list. But then I needed to remind myself to make a set of keys for the former and a list of phone numbers for Gareth's parents, the hotel in Paris, the hotel in London and our cell... The VA needed full instructions on how to use the syndication script on the Family-Content site and a test of the voice mail system we will use for emergency calls. (Imagine how much more she would need if I did not intend to monitor my own email while we're away!)
At the beginning of the week, I had seven items on the list. I've crossed them all off -- but the current list is now 10 items long.
One item that was on the list for a while was getting the family vaccinated against the flu. Unfortunately, I waited too late for that one. By the time I'd started looking for the vaccine, news stories had started appearing stating that this was going to be one of the worst flu seasons in decades... and demand for the vaccine has grown so much that I can't find it anywhere. (The public health departments seem to have a supply, but they are limiting vaccinations to those under two, over 50 and/or with major health problems. That doesn't describe any of us, thank goodness!)
However, the more I'm told by my doctor, my daughter's doctor, the public health department, etc. that I can't get hold of the vaccine, the more anxious I am to get it. Last night, the news reported that a local 7-year-old died from influenza and a 2-year-old sibling is in the hospital. I've spent more time in the last two days trying to track down a flu shot, or the new FluMist, which is supposedly in plentiful supply due to its expense... but no luck. This is an item that will have to be taken off the list.
The thing is, I usually do catch something after spending 10 hours in that flying Petri dish we call an airplane. And on our last December visit to the UK, Gareth got sick, too. I think the fact that he came down with something has stuck with him all this time -- he is not a good patient. However, neither one of us has caught the flu on the trip -- and the bugs we usually describe as flu are really some other kind of virus. I don't think we're going to get the flu, and I don't think a flu shot is going to keep us from catching something else.
I told Gareth and Megan that we all need to wash our hands a lot, keep them off our faces and take lots of vitamin C. Which reminds me -- I'd better put that on the List...
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