Lists

So, I am back from a trip. I went to a friend's wedding in Sedona, then up to my beloved Flagstaff (summer afternoon monsoons, I love you), and then my folks and I drove the lovely highway through Reservation territory (red mesas, endless blue sky, lots of horizon) up to Cedar City, Utah, where we saw six different plays at the Utah Shakespearean Festival. It was a fantastic week. Lots of open road -- the kind that stretches out alongside your thoughts, that gives you neutral, transitory space to just *be*.

But now I'm back.

And I have a couple of lists to share with you:

List #1: Indicators That You've Just Come Back From A Trip

1. You eat oatmeal with a fork, because the rest of the silverware sits in the dishwasher, and you forgot to turn it on. Oh, and one other thing, you put coffee creamer on your oatmeal, because you don't have any milk.
(Vanilla coffee creamer is actually quite good on oatmeal; is that gross?)
2. You have a new vigor for housecleaning. You believe that you really can tackle those little piles after all.
3. You have a stack of mail to go through, and as you do so, you realize just how much paper gets wasted in junk mail. And then you sigh. And you recycle.
4. Your doggy greets you with even more gusto than normal. His whole body shakes, his ears go back, and he looks at you as if to say, "I am so happy, I may explode!"
5. You have to take a trip to the dollar store to buy toothpaste because you forgot about that whole 4 oz. or less toiletry rule for flights.
6. Your computer sits full of photos to download. And you try to decided between downloading photos, laundry, or homework....

...which takes me to list #2...

List #2: Indicators That You Are Procrastinating Homework

1. You search the cleaning supplies for bleach, and then bleach your kitchen sink and countertops.
2. You watch the Olympics and wonder what the body fat percentage of an Olympic gymnist must be.
3. You get the munchies.
4. You take the dog to the dogpark because he needs the exercise.
5. You spend way too much time looking at people's photos on facebook.
6. You water and trim all the houseplants.
7. You'd much rather blog than write that essay, even though they both offer you a blank page for your thoughts. :)

OK, well, now that that confession is out, I'll go do the homework. Maybe....