Life is one big to-do list.

This is a topic I wrote about fifteen years ago and the message is still the same. No matter what decade you are living it, the list of responsibilities keeps growing. Whether we have young children, teenagers, grown up kids or no children, we still have our lives to deal with. We may have aged parents or crazy parents or no parents. We may be married, divorced or single with a lot of money or limited resources, yet we all have one thing in common, our lives are filled with chores from the moment we wake up until we go to bed!

How did we get here? Why is life really one big “to-do” list? Why are we always having issues to deal with and feeling like we can barely keep up with our lives? With every decade comes a different host of issues to solve. In my twenties, it was all about setting a foundation for my career and trying to date someone longer than a season as it seems I could never stay in a relationship more than three months. My career also changed during my twenties from media to real estate. I truly believed I may be unable to support myself, until I did and did well and eventually was married.

 So, all good, right?

Hardly, the prince in shining armor I married and who looked great on “paper” as a perfect fit for me was not even close to being a lifelong partner. More on this later but being married to my ex was like staring in a CIA action movie that left me exhausted and having to start all over in my mid-30’s. I was filled with to-do lists that included finding a new career as I left the real estate business when I got married and to find an apartment in Chicago I could afford.

What my divorce taught me was I could survive on my own. I was able to grow into the woman I have become because of my challenges. Mostly, I learned to like myself and not depend on anyone to take care of me. I battled the biggest enemy within to become the woman and wife I am today. I continue to battle it and my “to-do” list continues to grow as I get older. The list is just different than I was in my 20’s.

Today I woke up to a broken Epson printer with the nearest service location over 60 miles away since my warranty has expired. With the cost of gas now, its cheaper to buy a new printer at Staples. So, I added it to my today’s “to-do list”

And will purchasing a new printer and spending hours of trying to set it up since I am not tech savvy. I also walked into the metal leg of my sofa and severely bruised it or have a hairline fracture in my foot. I iced it and wrapped it in a soft bandage and am hoping for the best. Good news is I can walk on it.

It’s just another day filled with “to-do” items, but I wouldn’t trade my life for anything. I am a work in progress. Join me on my new blog here as we talk about our “to-do” lists.