Exactly four years ago, I posted a list of 19 things I was loving at the time.
As a novelist who has written an entire novel in lists (preorder here), it’s not surprising that my blog and social media is peppered with lists of various kinds.
I especially like making lists like these because they allow me to look back four years later and see what has changed in my life. Back in 2015 when I wrote the list, I set a reminder in my Google calendar to check back on the list today, which was a very clever thing for the 2015 version of myself to do.
Good job, former me.
I wondered:
Am I still enjoying the same things, or have my tastes changed? Will I think the 2015 version of myself was odd? Stupid? Naive?
Am I the same person, or am I a completely new person?
The list, it turns out, breaks down into three categories:
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Things that I still love
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Things that I no longer love.
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Things that I now take for granted.
I’ll write a new list for tomorrow for 2019. Here is how the 2015 list breaks down:
THINGS I STILL LOVE
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Chipotle burritos
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Tickling my children
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My wife in a tee shirt and underwear
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Bruce Willis action films while on the treadmill
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Carhartt socks in place of slippers
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Moth StorySLAMs
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Jeff (my friend)
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Egg McMuffins
THINGS I NO LONGER LOVE
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Listening to my kindergarten daughter read to me (she’s in fourth grade and prefers to read independently)
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Better Call Saul (between seasons)
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1776 by David McCullough (I’m sure it was great but I don’t remember much about it)
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The Lyle Lovett Pandora station
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Cold water from a metallic water bottle
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Holding my dog in my lap after work (she passed away last year)
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Any day over 35 degrees (35 degrees? Give me a day over 50 and I’ll be happy)
THINGS I TAKE FOR GRANTED
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Overcast (podcasting app)
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The Memory Palace (podcast)
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UNU battery pack (for my iPhone)
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Squarespace