The Listmaker.

It is that time of year.  Tomatoes are coming off the plants in pounds and there are simply not enough hours in the day to deal with it.  It is also the time of year for summertime vacations and camping.  This is a bad combination.  This week I have suddenly found myself in a bit of a pickle  (Thankfully the majority of my cucumbers failed this year so I don't also have pounds of pickles to deal with too. ).  I am heading up to beautiful Mt. Hood tomorrow, but I also have Roma tomatoes that are threatening to take over my kitchen.  Enter The Listmaker. 

I love lists.  I hear a lot of people say this.  The satisfaction of being able to cross something off the list is better than the satisfaction of actually having done the thing.  I have crazy lists going right now.  A list of things in the house I need to pack, a list of things to buy at the grocery store, a list of meals to eat while camping, a list of to dos before I leave.  These multiple lists have culminated into a calendar list to keep me organized.  I have broken everything down from my various other lists into steps and given myself agendas for my lunch breaks, after work time and before work time for the next couple days.  As soon as I start to feel overwhelmed with things to do and thoughts going in circles, I stop.  I get out my list and see what is next on it and I do that thing and I don't think about anything else.  Nothing is going to get done if I'm just worrying.

On the list last night was to prep all my ripe tomatoes.  I peeled and cored about 50 Romas and then simmered them, blended them and cooked them down into a sauce.  I have another small batch of Roma sauce I made late last week waiting in the fridge.  Tonight I will combine both batches, boil and can in the pressure canner. 

There is a delicate balance here.  I could easily go list-Nazi over here and stress myself out to the point of breakdown or I could use the list as a guide and assistance in getting as much done as I possibly can while still taking care of myself.  I woke up this morning and had a stiff body.  I had things on The List to do this morning, but I had to take my self-care first.  I rolled out my mat and did a very short yoga practice.  Just enough to loosen myself and prepare for the day.  This meant I left my house this morning with a sink full of dirty dishes, but in the grand scheme my physical and mental comfort trump the dirty dishes.  I know I probably won't get everything done on The List before I leave and I know that I will return from my trip with some rotten tomatoes in the garden that missed their window, but you can't forget to leave time for leisure.  If you aren't enjoying some quiet, slow time, then what is all this work for in the first place?  Doing things the slow and deliberate way, like growing and canning your own tomatoes for winter, can give you are a real sense of perspective and appreciation, but you have to be willing to let go every once in a while and actually enjoy the slowness of life.