Lists

I guess I have a lot of things to write down

I’ve been a list maker my entire life. It’s part of what keeps my overthinking at bay, it helps with my Type A personality, it helps me be the amazing multi-tasker I am. I’m also quite old school about it - I like to write things down preferably with a pencil on a tiny notepad or scrap paper or post it notes. Though my most private and personal lists live on the Notes app of my iPhone.

This list making probably comes as no surprise to you if you’ve been following my work long, or even if you’ve just been a subscriber here on Whorella since January, as I’ve already shared several kinds of lists with you all recently. My list of my favorite body positive TV shows and movies, my list of 220 books on body liberation, 3 ways to love your legs this summer, 8 of my fashion faves.

We recently listened to a bunch of podcasts on our drive to and from Las Vegas and all around two national parks in Utah. It is such a great way to pass the time, learn something new and hear a story while doing mundane things. My absolute favorite was this one called Ghost of A Chance, the story of Minnesota Star Tribune reporter Eric Roper becoming obsessed with a Black couple who owned his Minneapolis home 100 years ago in what is now a predominantly white neighborhood and the research he undertook to uncover their story. We also dove deep into podcasts about the history of Las Vegas, which is so fascinating to me, as well as stories from researchers, reporters and surviving members of the family and church knowledgeable about the Ruby Franke, a Mormon YouTube mommyblogger star who was sentenced to prison for child abuse, prompted by the fact my daughter and I had just watched the documentary Devil In The Family on Hulu and we were driving right be her house and the home of her lover/partner in crime in Utah. We also devoured several episodes of Stuff You Should Know, as we thought the kids would be into it, and learned about The Cleveland Torso Murders, the history of poutine (which we all love), about the Great Finger in the Wendy’s Chili Caper. (Which if you don’t know about these things, it’s definitely stuff you should know because it’s fascinating! And also it’s not lost on me I just shared a list of my fave recent podcasts with you!)

And my Reviving Hilda project is a list of sorts, now with 75 images! I just made six more in honor of my 50th birthday coming up and you an see them all on my website here.

We also listened to a lot of This American Life from NPR, which is a long time favorite in our house. The episodes usually have at least three different stories on a theme. I just turned it on yesterday, in fact, as I was cleaning my bathroom, and it happened to be on Lists!!! Why we make them, how we use them, odd things we write down. My favorite story was this one from two brothers talking about another brother who died by suicide and was memorialized by this bullshit list (so they thought) and it was just so beautiful and touching.

The lists on my iPhone include:

• post ideas for this very Substack

• poems

• gift ideas for each of my family members

• gift ideas for me!

• mileage for my small business accountant

• songs I love (that reminds me! I also gave you a playlist in this post last Spring!)

• a gazillion shopping lists for Trader Joe’s

• names of Old Boise businesses that no longer exist that I’ve been collecting for years to make something special with someday

• date ideas

• fun ideas for my annual Merry Swiftmas Taylor Swift themed Christmas party

• Netflix shows to watch

• a list of documents I needed for filing a lawsuit

• what needs to be refilled in the camper before the next trip

• so many recipes with lists of ingredients

And digging through all my old lists got me so emotional in so many ways and also had me find two list poems I’d forgotten about and I can’t wait to share them with you here soon.

Are you a list maker? If so, what kinds of lists do you keep?