how to make a comfort list

In Get Lucky, the main character makes a “comfort list” of things that are soothing.  Here it is:

“Things that are comforting:

Tea.

Warm water on your skin.

Thick socks.

Humming.

Laughter.

Fireplaces.

Having someone arrange your fruit in a smiley face.

Having someone refuse to examine your imaginary tumors.

Watching old movies with Mackie.”

And while I’ve never actually made a list like this, myself, I’ve been thinking lately that I maybe should.

Because having a book come out is exhilarating and thrilling and amazing.  And it has the dream-come-true quality that so many things do for me now that I make my living as a novelist.  But the truth is, having your dreams come true — though truly, indescribably awesome — can also, at times, be a little stressful.

So here is my own comfort list for this month.  (And for the record, even just making the list is comforting.)

• Reading to my kids. (About to start Harry Potter 7!)
• Watering the garden.
• Watching at the garden–and all its butterflies, bugs, bees, lizards, and caterpillars.
• Cooking dinner.
• Listening to NPR.  (Oh, NPR! I love you!)
• Writing the next novel.
• Daydreaming about the next novel.
• Researching the next novel.
• Taking a shower.
• Curling up next to my sweetie at the end of the day.
• Watching my kids do dance contests.
• Watching 30 Rock.  (So good!! MMMPH!)
• Reading.  (Right now it’s Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project–along with a book about whales.)
• Napping.
• Snuggling.
• The sound of the dishwasher.
• Gabbing on the phone.
• Cracking jokes in the kitchen with my husband while he makes tea.
• Making coffee.  (Even if I never get a chance to drink it.)
• Boogieing to 70s stations on our WiFi radio.
• Imagining how I’d like to redecorate the house.
• Date night.  (Eating Ethiopian food until we’re so full we can barely walk and then going to the movies.)

So: There’s a start.  Actually, the more comforts I think of, the more I think of.  Which is, of course, comforting in itself.