Lists are a good thing.  They encourage organization.  They help me remember to do something that I might ordinarily forget — especially something I don’t want to do, something that’s hard or unpleasant.  I often plan to make a list, but then….don’t.

            I think of activities that are easy for me.  I’m “on automatic” when I respond to those situations.  Like the mail.  When it arrives, I attack it like a drill sergeant.  I grab the stack of paper, ads and magazines and sort it by recipient. 

            Sometimes Maury gets the bulk of the delivery that day, but it’s not what I’d call exciting.  I have no positive relationship with United Health Care, but he does, so he’s cheerful when he gets those envelopes.  The waste of postage is appalling.  I wonder how much they could reduce their fees, if they fed the information to the receivers electronically – or at least put more than one statement in an envelope.  But I digress.

            Gone are the days when I received letters.  Do you even remember what such correspondence is?  A conversation starter, written in ink on paper, perhaps on a pretty note card.  Personal.  Kind.  Expressing interest in me and what I’m doing in my life. Sharing news.  I don’t remember the last time I received a real letter. 

            I used to get them frequently from Carol, my much loved mother-in-law.  She could give lessons on how to be the perfect mother-in-law.  An English major, her letters were exquisitely written.  She inspired me.  And there never was a criticism.  We shared a mutual admiration society. 

            My challenge today is to throw away as much as I can.  I rip open the gas bill, the invoice from CL&P and toss the envelopes and filler into a heap.  All other unwanted mail, opened or not, goes in that same pile and I then pitch all of it into the recycle bin.  I slide the invoices into the bright yellow folder in my desk drawer while magazines get placed on the coffee table or by my bed.  It’s all done in thirty seconds.  I have a routine, a habit on how I handle mail.  I feel satisfied and virtuous. If only every task was as easy,  I’d be a wiz.