Sitting in church yesterday, I looked down and saw that my daughter had a spiral notebook opened to a very looooooooong list. (My apologies to Pastor Larry for the inappropriate diversion during the service.) Upon closer inspection I saw that it contained her back-to-school needs, everything from highlighters to planners to backpack to lunchbox to erasers. She'd even labeled the list "Draft.''  You've got to be kidding me, I thought. It was July 19. School starts Aug. 31. How many more "drafts'' would there be? I can't seem to formulate the perfect grocery list until I'm back from the store and lugging bags into the house.

 Why can't I be more like my daughter?

A few days ago I got a call from my bank; I apparently left my debit card at a local gas station. I didn't even know the card was missing. The bank called to tell me it had terminated the card and would await word from me before opening a new one. Argh! Thank goodness someone is watching over me. In May, I microwaved my cell phone, which had, unbeknownst to me, slipped into a bucket of popcorn en route from the video store to my house. And then there's my organized, focused daughter, who is crafting a blueprint for the 2009-10 school year.

I wonder sometimes where my head is. Do I deplete my organizational bank by the time I leave work? Am I juggling too many mom things? Am I getting old? Am I the only mom who feels like her mind is always leaping forward to the next Scout meeting or ballet lesson before I've parked the car at the one that started two minutes ago?  Is there hope? I don't know, but if there is, I'm sure it's somewhere on my daughter's checklist.