Organization

On day 15 (already halfway!) of my 30 days of gratitude challenge, I am thankful for organizational skills.  Isn't it nice when everything is in it's place?  Doesn't it create a sense of serenity?  I must admit, I'm not always the best at keeping things where they belong.  It's not because I don't want to, but often it's that I don't have time.  When did life get so busy?

Today, I finally went through all the paperwork that had been laying around in small piles to be organized.  Everything is now in it's place, in a file folder, in a file cabinet.  What a nice feeling.  It took me several hours, and it wasn't the most fun task, but having everything in it's place has always given me peace of mind.  It drives me absolutely crazy, not knowing where something is.  If I don't know where something is, whether I need it or not, I will look for it until I find it. 

Going through the paperwork that was laying around the house had difficult moments today.  I came across all of Preston's medical bills - from his birth to his death.  I came across the mortuary paperwork, the grief support paperwork, and all the paperwork from his pediatrician visits - including the foot prints they took at birth.  While going through all the paperwork, I noticed we didn't have a death certificate... I know right, not something a parent should be thinking about, but I think we'll probably need it for our taxes next year... I think we filed out a form to get one but didn't get back to the funeral home about his SSN... and now I can't find his SS card.  So not only is it driving me nuts that I can't find it, it's eating me alive that I could have misplaced something so important.  It was actually eating me alive, so it worked out great that I had plans to go to the art festival in my town, and ended up having a nice lunch with friends.  Nice relief from my brain and my heart.

I'm all done with filing away the paperwork and I still haven't found the card.  I still feel bad about it, but I'm slowly trying to be ok for not having found it.  I'm sure it'll keep gnawing at me until I find it, if I ever find it.  I'll give myself a week and if I can't find it, I can always request another one from the government right?

You probably couldn't tell that I have good organizational skills if you looked at my desk at work, but it's just because there are higher priorities.  At home, I guess I may have been a little lazy.  Time for a change.  I've always loved having everything in it's own special spot - time to implement it.  Time to better myself and use the skills I have. I applied them well when Preston was with us.  Everything was on schedule, everything had a spot, everything was perfect.  I might not have perfect anymore, but I can have organization.