"The Secret Is In the Details"

It is amazing how people fit into categories. We are all distinct but we are all so very related. Every society has different groups of people who are alike in many, many ways. I fit in with the group that is obsessed with the details of life. I always have been that way; I always will be that way. I am a note taker, a list maker, a future planner. To me it is the only way to live.

One of my big obsessions is my calendar. It is a nice large one that fits on my desk. On the first of every month I go back in my calendar stack for about ten years and review any important events that occurred on the dates of the upcoming month. I bring forward every birthday and every anniversary.

People are forever telling me that they have forgotten someone's anniversary or birthday. I look at them like they are crazy. Don't they keep a calendar, and don't they check it every day? That way nothing slips by me and no one gets forgotten.

The calendars also serve as a sort of history of my life. I have been keeping them for about twenty years and I have them all stored under the bed in the guestroom. Someday my children or grandchildren will study them and know all about me. At least that is what I tell myself; and that is the justification I use to my wife who wants to throw them out. How could she throw out history!

I also am a list maker. In the morning I usually make a list of things that have to be done that day. I also have a running list of things that have to be done in the near future. As I accomplish one of these listed tasks I cross it off. This gives me a sense of accomplishment and in a strange way a sense of security. 

Funny, I have never been able to talk my wife into making lists. She just isn't in to it. But I couldn't tell you how many times she has told me to put something on my list. Does that make any sense?

When it comes to my finances, I really have a great time. I keep a ledger. I have done this for thirty years. I have everything broken down by "Type of Expense" such as (1) Eating Out (2) House Payment (3) Car expenses, etc. I list the check number, the payee, and the amount. At the end of the month I total up how much I spent in each category.

You can't imagine how helpful this is at tax time. My accountant tells me I am an Auditor's worst nightmare. I can go back five, ten or twenty years and tell you exactly how much I spent on any given item.

Do I sound obsessive? Well I admit that I am. Still I don't understand why it drives some people crazy that I do these things. I have friends who literally go berserk when I mention the ledger, the lists or the calendar. But then there are the people who are like me and keep the same kind of records. They give a knowing smile when I say it just makes me happy to do this.

I believe this is a universal trait. I could probably go to Korea and search out someone who spends his spare time keeping up with the minutiae of his life. And when we finally reach Mars I bet there will be records of someone from the lost civilization and it will list how he spent his funds.

We all have our quirks. Mine are my attention to details. Neither of my sons inherited this trait. But I am keeping a watchful eye on my grandchildren. I have a feeling they will be the ones to inherit my lists.

 

 

 

 

 

©2004 Jackie K. Cooper

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