You Say "OCD," I Say "Organized"

Once when I opened the kitchen cabinet and a guest saw this list taped to the inside of the door, she stopped talking mid-sentence, looked at me sympathetically and said in a very understandingly way, "Oh, I understand you now...."  

   

So first, let me say if I did have OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), why...oh...WHY...would I have put the canned corn, anchovies, jar of peaches and quinoa on the same shelf? They're not the same size, shape, color, texture, food group, nutritional value, or even share a similar expiration date?

I created this list when we were preparing for the birth of Cory and we needed to plan for someone to take care of Christopher at any moment -- day or night, on a weekend day or on a school day. Our dear friend (and Christopher's god-mother) Johanna Silva and her mother (Abuelita) were "on call" with plans to stay through the night with Christopher during my stay in the hospital. 

Considering Johanna does not have kids (she has a dog), and might have to pack Christopher's lunch for school, I thought I'd try to make it easier for her to prepare Christopher's meals and pack his lunch. Thus -- THE LIST was created!! 

The list itemizes all the food Christopher enjoys for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I admit the detail on HOW he likes his toast buttered was a little overboard (cold pat of butter - must be visible to the eye). The thing is, I knew whenever it was time for Lisa to take me to the hospital and all attention would be on the new baby, Christopher would need a sense of familiarity, comfort, and security.  With both parents gone and a new life of big-brotherhood on the way, why mess with the man's food, right?

I still use this list today.  Whenever I'm in a time-crunch in the morning or just don't have the mental space to think (People--you know what I'm talking about), I review this list and quickly see what I can prepare in a hurry. It's been a life saver!