My Favorite Things

One of my favorite movies has always been the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, The Sound of Music. At one point during the movie, Julie Andrews gathers the storm-skittish von Trapp children around her and tries to ease their fears. What ensues is one of my favorite songs from the movie: My Favorite Things. While lightning flashes and thunder booms around them, Julie sings a pitch-perfect list of things that make her happy.

I am a list maker too, though I don't usually sing them. If I want to remember everything I need to get at the store, I make a shopping list. If I want to accomplish anything on Saturday or during summer break, I need to make a to-do list. Lists are my friends.

A list is also a quick and easy way to add to your personal history. These lists cannot substitute for humorous anecdotes, interesting stories and spiritual experiences, but they can add a lot of interesting information that does not fit into a story setting or on a pedigree chart.

Try creating some lists of your favorite things to add to your personal history. Here are a few ideas:

• My favorite breakfast foods are ... 
• My favorite candies are ... 
• These are the books I enjoy reading over and over again … 
• My favorite pizza toppings are … 
• My favorite board games are ... 
• My favorite television shows are ... 
• As a child, my favorite television shows were … 
• The jobs I have held over the years are … 
• My favorite restaurants are ... 
• My favorite movies are … 
• These are my favorite dishes that Grandma serves … 
• These are a few of my favorite scriptures … 
• Favorite outfits I remember wearing as a child were … 
• These are my favorite teachers … 
• My favorite places to visit in the Kansas City area are … 
• These are favorite books my mother read to me as a child … 
• My favorite hymns are … 
• These are the popular songs I have enjoyed recently … 
• These are the things I enjoy doing in my spare time … 

Though we don't want to wallow in negativity or self-pity, these can make for interesting lists. Try making lists such as these:

• These are my least favorite foods … 
• Books that were so stinking bad, I couldn't finish them ... 
• These are the bones I have broken so far … 
• These are things that my siblings did that annoyed me … 
• These are things I did to annoy my siblings ... 
• These are the candies I most often pilfered from my children's Halloween bags, Easter baskets, etc. ...  

Lists can be a lot of fun to create on your own or as a Family Night activity. Plan a list-making night and have each family member make lists for the same categories and then compare. Lists can be your friends too.