Note to Self

I am a major list-maker and note-taker.  I LOVE lists and notes and keep both meticulously.  They drive me, motivate me, organize me, please me, and soothe me.  But then there is the quintessial note...the Mother of All Notes...the "note to self" composed by me for my future self and then read by me from my past self.

Confused?

This Christmas I was contemplating how to decorate for the season.  Every year I choose a different color scheme and theme.  Last year was an elegant fruit and floral theme in copper, gold, purple and ivory.  The tree before that was red and blue, and before that it was silver, white and gold.  One year I chose a peacock blue that didn't match my family room at all, so I went as far as taking down the curtains and hanging the blue ones from my bedroom and removing every single item that was cranberry-colored in the room (which was a lot in that particular room) and replacing lamps, books, throw pillows, tablecloth, and knick-knacks with blue items.  The result was stunning...it felt like a new house!  But I never did that again because putting everything back after the holiday was quite the chore (no anticipation or creative juices to drive me!).  This year I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do.  We were planning to get our tree on Sunday, so in preparation I went into the storage room under the stairs where I keep all my Christmas decorations and supplies, thinking I'd take a look around to get a little inspiration.  And there I found it...the Note to Self.  It was tucked into the Christmas card holder that I have hanging on the wall of the storage room, in plain sight and easy to grab without having to move a single box.  It said, "Christmas 2012."  Excitedly, I opened it, thinking, "Oh, yeah!  I remember putting this here!"  The note said, "Christmas 2012 - Red and White Theme," with a detailed list of what decorations to use and which bins they were located in. 

It all came back to me.  Then I turned to the pile of bins and boxes in the storage room, and lo and behold, the bins were all in order for decorating according to the red and white theme...there was the bin of lights, then the bin of ornaments, then the bin of decorations.  Wow, I was quite impressed with myself!  I didn't have to haul out half the storage room to see what I wanted to use, like I have in the past.  One, two, three, four...the bins came out in orderly fashion.  Then, surprise #3, I opened the lid to the ornament bin and, voila!, there were the white snowflakes, white boa, and white sparkly icicles and in the next bin were the red glitter stars, red balls, red sparkle trees and red swirly ornaments.  Oh, this was too easy!  I felt like someone had done me a huge favor...I actually felt grateful!  I said right out loud to Anna, "This is so cool!  I'm getting a note from Me, which is exactly what I need right now!  I guess I know myself pretty well!"  She didn't just roll her eyes at me, she actually said, "Mom, you are so weird."  "I know, I know...and I love it!" I exclaimed enthusiastically.  The magic of a note to self is that it meets your needs exactly, because you wrote it!  There is no interpretation needed, no hidden meaning, no misunderstanding...just perfect directions, explanations, thoughts, and processes!  I think what I enjoyed the very most about decorating my tree this year wasn't the pretty red-and-white candy cane theme or even sitting by the glow of the tree admiring it when it was finished.  It was that wonderful note to self...communication from my former self to my present self, just when I needed it most!