5 Daily Musts

When I saw this post on Stacy Julian's blog, I knew I needed to play along.

To-do lists are a big part of my life. As evidenced on my 12 of 12, I'm a big believer in making task lists, and as I recently discovered in my dorky Twitter analysis, a lot of my tweets are about to-dos and the time it takes to complete them. But there are always unwritten, daily MUST-dos, which Stacy's post got me thinking about.

She presented her readers with the following to ponder:

What things, accomplished everyday keep you centered and focused? Even when the life serves up interruption after interruption with a side of distraction; What are the must dos that keep you breathing and balanced?

(Can you smell a scrapbook layout?) In the meantime...

Here are the top five things that bring calm and stability to my daily life:

• Music. A day without music is a bad day. The right song can cheer me up even when I'm in the worst of moods.

• Hugs and kisses from my sweetie. It's the way I start each morning and end each night. (And if I'm lucky, I steal a few in between.)

• Talking to my mom. Whether via phone or email, whether a serious talk about life changes or a silly conversation about soap operas, I feel like something is missing if I go a day without talking to her.

• Quality kitty time. A purr and a nudge from Mimi can turn any frown upside down.

• Nighttime gratitude and prayers. Those few minutes before turning in for the night are mine to share with G-d, to silently say thanks for all the blessings in my life, and to pray for the well-being of my loved ones.

As long as I do these things, I can tackle anything else that lands on my plate. J

Thanks for the inspiration, Stacy!