Sorry, not rheumatoid arthritis. Just me.

This past week, I realized that between now and the end of the year, I have the following events lined up:

• Hosting book club tonight
• Attending a wedding this weekend
• Going to Thanksgiving at Mimi’s
• Celebrating JG’s birthday
• Hosting Christmas
• Possibly hosting something for New Year’s Eve

I mentally plotted these events on the calendar and realized that my life is going to shift into overdrive after Thanksgiving. It’s not so much that I feel the need to go above and beyond for every single one of these events, but they are just so darn close together. If I don’t anticipate what I need to do, I will be raging ball of stress by December 12, so I made a list, of course.

But, oh, not just any list. I made the Master Holiday To-Do List, or MHTDL (pronounced muh-HET-duhl, because my sister and I like to make anti-intuitive acronyms). I opened a new Google spreadsheet and brainstormed everything I would need to do for the rest of the year, noting the occasion, ideal deadline, and the “drop deadline.” So far, the MHTDL has over fifty items, but do not be deceived: I split up similar tasks so that I could cross them off in tiny increments. Ordering, writing out, and mailing Christmas cards are three separate items, so I intend to feel triply satisfied when I mentally slash slash slash them away.

On the one hand, the sheer quantity of to-dos can be overwhelming. They range from buying lamps to baking cookies to packing to decorating, and when they are all compressed into one place it seems like quite a lot for one person. On the other hand, I feel more at ease when I can see what I’ve accomplished and what I have yet to tackle, as opposed to the vague, hovering panic resulting from random items rolling around my brain.  Since it’s up to me, I choose controlled inundation, thank you.

The MHTDL has given me some oomph to get started, and I am on a roll.  The Christmas cards have been shipped! I made pumpkin cake for book club! I put in half of my online gift orders! Yesss.

To people’s surprise,
I walk Ted in the mornings
When I first get up.

I’m a night owl,
But JG’s early hours
Force the issue. Shrug.

For the morning walk,
The streets are littered with kids
Waiting for buses.

Lots of distractions
From people starting their days.
I keep the pace brisk.

When JG has class,
I take on the night shift, too,
But I don’t mind it.

I’m much more awake,
And Ted just loves whoever
Comes to let him out.

This walk is peaceful.
The only sound in my ear
Is Ted’s tag jingle.

The air is sharp, clear.
I find the chill refreshing,
Which is odd, I know.

But on the weekends,
JG and I swap our shifts.
Thank goodness for that.

JG is dealing with the crush of work that comes with the close of the marking period at school.  In addition to all of the normal grading and reporting, kids forget about their make-up assignments, and parents get up at arms.  It is not a fun time in Teacher World, and it results in conversations like the following Gchat excerpt:

JG: now i’m doing comments
so fun for report cards

RA: haha

JG: it’s so dumb
how can i stereotype your student in 5 pre decided words or less?

RA: if only you could write in how you really feel
is there any comment for “is about average”

JG: no there isn’t

RA: what a shame

JG: and with it all being on the computer there is no reason i shouldn’t be able to type in my own comment
and personalize them

RA: Your kid is a lump on a log
I look forward to your child’s contributions to my Value Meal
HAHAHA.
that would be WAY too tempting for me
but then, I am mean

JG: haha
yes

And that is just one of many reasons why whenever people ask me if I am a teacher, it is all I can do to stop myself from laughing in their faces.

Here it is, already ten days into November, and I am just now reflecting on the October’s put-togetherness.   It was a good month, wasn’t it?  Good, but fast.

Over the course of the month, 28 people joined the Flickr pool for a total of 63 members.  All told, 341 pictures were added to the pool, resulting in a grand total of 780 photos!  From my non-scientific gleaning, it appears that everyone was inspired by interesting layering, versatile pieces, and inventive color schemes.  Perhaps M:PT will help to furnish some participants’ Christmas lists…

I am a bit glum because I did not follow through with my donation intention.  My pile of stuff to give away is still just that — a jumbled stack of JG’s and my clothes from various purges, but still not organized or bagged neatly, much less documented and schlepped to Goodwill.  I am disappointed with myself, as much as I know that my schedule and late-month cold didn’t help matters.  Bah.  Excuses, excuses.  Regardless, Dress for Success received a bit of benefit in the name of M:PT, so yay for that!

Overall, it was fun to watch how the moods of fall dictated people’s outfits.  Envy over flip flops and tweed alike echoed across the comments, and it was entertaining to see how different parts of the country might react to the changing season.  M:PT is like a little peephole into a person’s life; we saw the tail ends of morning routines, mirrors of all shapes, work restrooms, and Halloween costumes. Best of all, we did it together and put-together.

October mission accomplished!