I come from a long line of list makers

Our birth instructor told us last week that by the 36th week we should have our bag packed and by the front door, just in case. I leaned over and whispered to Rich, "Um, that's Tuesday. Guess we should make a list." Fortunately, I am a champion list maker. Both of my parents are list makers as well. My mother keeps 3x5 index cards in her shirt pocket with a variety of lists on them at all times. Their bathroom mirror is littered with several lists (some woefully out of date but still there like organizational relics).

Yesterday my father left for the family farm in North Carolina to make molasses. His family has made molasses every year since his father was doing it for everyone in Edgecombe County. It's a bit of a family tradition. These days, though, it's harder and harder to make it all happen. Daddy is in his late sixties, his brother is in his early seventies and most of us kids have other obligations that keep us away (this year, my belly keeps me close to home and away from the molasses cooker).

Since the farm is not used regularly, we end up bringing every possible thing we could think of needing for a weekend. I went to check on my mother who's under the weather this afternoon and found Daddy's packing list by the computer. For posterity, I'll share it with you all.

Money, cell phone, charger, inverter Camera, batteries, memory Flashlight, big beam and charger Back belt, neck brace, knee brace, shoe under-arch pipe [the pipe is a contraption he created to help with foot cramps] Insect repellent and itch meds Umbrella and small ground mat

Acid reducer, Alka-Seltzer, Pepto-Bismol and Tums Baby aspirin and gum [both help his sore throat] Muscle relaxer, Motrin and large aspirin Tooth picks, dental floss and nail file Band aids, tweezers and hand lotion Eye drops and eye patch [not sure what the eye patch is for]

Deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste Razor & shave brush [my father still uses a camel hair shave brush] Soap, wash cloths, shampoo, conditioner Bath mat towel Glasses, pens, handkerchief and comb Night light, sleeping pants and shirt

Belt(s) and phone case(s) Shirts, pants and shoes (work and nice) Socks and underwear Hats - summer or winter and gloves

Plastic cups and paper towels Drinks, juice or energy drinks Candy, nabs, nuts, dried fruit Beanie weenies and canned fruit

Duct tape and tie wire Spare tire, jack and flares Tools and sockets Lug wrench and pipe handle Jumper cables or jump box Bungy cord and rope Ether [usually for starting the Model A Ford that runs the grinder]

He also had a short list of items to take home with him:

Dogwood tree Acuba plant Romex Turnip seed

I have my own long and detailed list of things to bring with us to the hospital (thankfully all of which fit in a backpack), but my take home list pretty much only has one extra item on it:

Baby

And on the seventh day, she applied wall decals

Saturday marked baby shower number two of three. This was a small family affair where we all went to "tea" at some place my aunt picked out. It was remarkably pleasant and I think everyone had a good time. But this weekend marked the first signs of my waning stamina. We went to a tour of the hospital that morning, I went to tea in the afternoon and I got a pedicure that evening. Those three activities do not sound high stress by any means, but by the time we got home from dinner, I was absolutely wiped. I went to bed at 10pm and slept straight through until 6am. This morning I rallied and wanted to go to Lowe's and Target after breakfast but after those two errands I had to sit around the house again in the recliner. I helped Rich mow the lawn for about an hour around noon and then jumped in the pool to clean it out a bit but after that I was worthless for anything except staring at the walls.

Unfortunately, I kept wanting to do things so I tried to find low drag activities. I did some laundry and cleaned up/deciphered our car seat and stroller. I added some wall decals to the baby's portion of our bedroom. And then I had to lie down before I collapsed. So yeah, this is getting old.

I had given myself an unofficial goal to try to blog every day this month because I knew I wasn't going to be up for NaBloPoMo in November with a newborn. But it's been harder than I thought it would be. So I'm just going to try for writing as much as I can without wearing myself out. Perhaps I should have just created a National Napping Month (NaNapMo) to force myself to take a break each day.

Living Out Loud volume 9: Your theme music

When you imagine that montage of some part of your life, what music is playing? Is there a particular ring tone others assign to you in their phones? When you're playing a sport, going for a long run, about to take on the world, what song is on repeat in your skull and cranked to volume 11? When they carry your coffin what song will be playing? This month's Living Out Loud project is all about your personal theme music. And don't tell me you don't have one. Everyone has one, it just may not play very loud. But there has to be something that plays in your head at key moments in your life.

I've been reading a lot of "birth plans" lately in preparation for our little guy's big arrival and a lot of them talk about what music you might want to have playing while you're in labor. And while I don't think our son needs to burst forth into this world to Queen's Don't Stop Me Now, it does give me a lot to think about on how powerful music can be.

So tell us what music we should be humming when we see you walking down the street. Tell us what makes this song (or songs if it's a particularly long street) so special. And strut your stuff.

Details include:

• Write something personal about yourself using the previous paragraphs as a guideline. Do not feel that you have to address each question above. The spirit of this project is to share something about yourself; I'm just throwing out ideas.

• It's by no means required, but feel free to include a link to the song or music video if possible. It's always helpful for context in case we weren't raised on the same music you were.

• Once you have completed your entry and posted it, please email me the link at genie [at] inabottle [dot] org.

• If you do not have a blog to host your story, you can email me the story directly and I will add it here as a guest post giving you credit. The more the merrier!

• The due date for entries is Sunday, October 4th (the first Sunday of the month) at 5pm Eastern.

• Once I have collected all the entries, I will post a wrap-up to list them all and announce a winner. The winner will receive some sort of prize to be determined but all participants will receive fame and glory and a link on our Living Out Loud blogroll.

Go forth and sing it loud and proud!

Brian & Eileen's Wedding Music Video. from LOCKDOWN projects on Vimeo.