"The List"

I have always been a list making fool. I make list to grocery shop, list to prioritize household cleaning, list to organize my thoughts, list of bills to pay, list of phone numbers, and basically just anything that would require one or more task that need to be completed or information to be compiled. I feel comfortable with list. Lists are like my little armies of all my thoughts and those spider like "rough drafts" teachers used to make up jot out prior to writing a paper...I think they were called prewriting drafts or whatever. I love how I feel when I am crossing something off of my list. The feeling is rewarding. For me, a list serves as a way of organizing my thoughts and getting rid of all the rift raft that clouds my thoughts 99% of the time. A list makes my thoughts and goals coherent and easily able to focus in on and make possible. I love me a good list! :) Anyway, I once made the single most important list of my entire life one day over four years ago. Had I known how important and profound this list would have served I would have kept it and had it framed. To tell you the story behind "my list," I first need to enlighten the reader on a little background...

I dated someone in the past that was quicksand for me. For other women he may have been great, but with my personality, hopes and dreams he was a noose around my neck. He brought nothing to our relationship tangible and was an ultimate learning experience for me. Without going into the details, let me just say at that time in my life and during his...everyone called him a BUM. The dictionary definition states that a bum is a noun meaning,
1. a person who avoids work and sponges on others; loafer; idler.
2. of poor, wretched, or miserable quality; worthless.
This pretty much sums up all the wonderful things my ex brought to our relationship...lol

Being with this person led up to my list! The list of the qualities, materials, and attributes of my next boyfriend. I formed this list with a paper towel as my paper, and a sharpie as the quill. I never imagined that this list would later lead to my Husband, but ultimately it did! You can call it coincidence, but I call it fate!

My list consisted of all the must have attributes and qualities, somewhere along the lines of this:

1) Must be able to provide a steady means of income. A real job where taxes are deducted out of a check.
(I say this because the only job my ex had was a little mediocre landscaping gig where he helped out a friend and was paid cash under the table so to speak. ) Sounds like a 12 year old mowing the neighbors grass to me.

2) Must have a reliable mode of transportation. (My ex, had no car...he used mine.)

3) Must have a money to pay bills with and know how to balance a checkbook. (My ex had neither.)

4) Must have strong values and a good relationship with immediate family. (This is important because a man that has a good relationship with his family especially respect for his mother is a terrific candidate for a husband.)

Right now, this blog is not a mode of comparison, but just enlightenment on how to make the things in life that you desire most become tangible.

I'm not quite sure everything I put on the list because eventually the list was discarded and thrown away after a good laugh or two, but it was the catalyst for inspiration amongst myself. It put into perspective my current situation and helped me focus in on new ideas. It organized my thoughts and ridded me of my useless clutter. This list became my husband. Now when I say that, I don't mean that fairy godmother appeared, and POOF...and husband. What I mean, is that by writing down likes and dislikes it zoned me in on Preston. I think of it like this...I met Preston two months after being in a relationship with my ex. Between the both of us always existed a sexual attraction as well as emotional connection, and while we all exchanged a form of flirtatious banter with one another, I never saw Preston as potential boyfriend material because I had blinders on. It was not until I sat down, and put things into prospective that it paved the way to fate.

This list is not meant to seem shallow either...their were concessions I had to be willing to make myself if I truly was ever going to find my dream man...Ultimately that list remains a joke between my husband and I, and while I'll never fully remember everything I included in it...I like to think the list was just one big picture of Preston.