The Life List (Spring Renewal)

I woke up this morning to a bitter cold wind, something certainly not suitable for spring. The fact is, though, that spring really is upon us. While it may not be warm enough to start gardening, or to open your windows to do that spring cleaning you're itching to do (oh, how I long to clean my windows), we can do another kind of spring cleaning. We can clean up our lives.

Yesterday, I had hours in my house to just sit and read, nothing else. My son didn't want to leave the house, and no one was coming to visit. (No one ever comes to visit. Maybe I should rethink the pop-in rule...) The book that I am reading, The Blessing of the Animals by Katrina Kittle, is all about a woman reconfiguring her life. It's about soul searching, deciding what matters, and deciding what every aspect of your life would look like, if you could create it. It reminded me of an exercise that I learned a while ago and am preparing to do.

It's called the Life List. It's easy to do, it's fun, and it will help you point your compass in the right direction. Take out a piece of paper and label the top with the things that are in your life. You may include family, career, home, travel, love, friendship, charity. You may just start with one. Now, write a list of what you'd like that aspect of your life to look like. For example, home might say: clean weekly, open space, plant flowers, entertain, buy new art, frame photos. Next, go through your list and see what you have, and what's missing, then figure out the changes that you need to make to have the life you want.

Now, go grab your pen and paper, and have a fun weekend.


Tiffany Palisi is a freelance writer and the author of the book, "Mama's World: Essays From the Inside Out." She has interviewed actresses, designers, and entertainers; her favorites include Cynthia Rowley, Patricia Arquette, Tea Leoni, and children's singer Dan Zanes. She is a contributing writer for Mountain Lakes Living magazine. Palisi lives with her family in New Jersey.