Ode to the Unfinished To-Do

no. 2 In the trilogy: Odes to Ordinary Things

This morning I found a to-do list from three weeks ago.

Several items remained unfinished.

One task had been moved to three separate lists.

Another had been circled.

Twice.

One ambitious item appeared to have been underlined in what I can only assume was a burst of optimism.

I considered feeling guilty.

The list certainly seemed to think that would be appropriate.

Instead, I found myself wondering about all the things that hadn't made it onto the page.

The difficult conversation.

The friend I checked in on.

The disappointment I survived.

The meal I cooked.

The tears I cried.

The courage it took to begin again.

To-do lists are excellent at recording tasks.

They are much less skilled at recording living.

Perhaps that is why mine always feel unfinished.

Not because I have failed.

But because life keeps insisting on happening in the margins.

randomly chosen image so this post can have a cover image. uh huh, sometimes I roll like that!