as i was sitting on the beach this morning with a bird-turned-sand-flea in my lap and a surf-side monkey in my purview, i had a conversation with the other adults around about good summer reading for moms.

take note: i, myself, was not reading in this moment, just wishfully talking about doing so, which is often as far as my literary interest takes me these days. nevertheless, we came up with a working list of summer reading titles for moms, each of which fits  at least one of the following requirements:

1. self-contained chapters that do not to add strain to one’s poor dwindling memory.
2. brevity, which comes in handy when one drifts to sleep and drops the book on one’s face.
3.  page-turner, which allows the reader to feel successful and be swept into another world at the same time.
4. awakens an old part of one’s self

so, without further babble, here’s the list. feel free to add to it by leaving comments:

mr. darcy and the blue-eyed stranger, by lee smith. this book of southern short stories meets requirement number one, and it has made me laugh out loud at least ten times.

on chesil beach by ian mcewan. this tale of love, sex, and timing scores points for meeting requirement number two. if you drop this book on your face, you will not wake up until the morning.

born to run: a hidden tribe, superathletes, and the greatest race the world has never seen by christopher mcdougall. according to my husband and fiftyleven friends of mine who have read the book, this tale of the mexican tarahumara indians, their running style, and its potential to transform american running fits requirements three and four. all i know is that, inspired by this little gem,  my husband has reverted back to the habits of his high school cross-country days.

the sunday wife by cassandra king. this fictional account of female friendships and the life of a preacher’s wife allows the reader to vicariously vacation at grayton beach. it makes the list for meeting requirement number three.

an altar in the world by barbara brown taylor. for the theologically inclined, this book about finding god in the most ordinary places and experiences will have you looking to your dusty baseboards for signs of the divine. as is true for many of barbara brown taylor’s books, this one meets requirement number one.

the help by kathryn stockett. i might have been the last person on earth to read this fabulous book. i had a newborn when it came out, and it looked so long and daunting! but other mom friends read it and vouched that it meets requirement number three, and boy does it ever. i sped right through this illuminating and provocative story set in 1960’s jackson, and i was sad to say goodbye to the characters at the book’s end.

that’s all for now. feel free to add your own. i’ll probably add a few myself as the wishful conversation about reading continues. who knows… maybe i’ll even get to crack a book myself!

welcome new fantasy-to-do-list-makers! you never know what will come of our little game.

perhaps secret agent mom will publish a book. maybe stacy and her husband will open that restaurant. lane just might play bass in a band! megan could be on her way to fluency in american sign language. hiking and camping in yosemite could be in katherine’s near future. kathi could begin to incorporate daily meditation into her life. jessa might soon be found “riding allovercreation” on her new bike with kid attachments. we might see lindsey’s name on a campaign sign in the next few years. reverendmother could perfect her signature dish when she’s not traveling far and wide. i’m hoping that melissa will open that candy store on south main. jaime and i can go there to celebrate when she gets her first hole-in-one! then, to burn off those extra candy calories, i can go with emmy to her first spin class.

it’s not too late to make your own list! see this post for details.

in yesterday’s post, i took my friend katherine’s lead and created a “fantasy to do list.”

the purpose of a fantasy to do list is to start thinking beyond all of the many obligations that abound long enough to envision what life might look like with a little added refrains of fun. items on these lists have a strange way of slipping out of the hypothetical world and into our real lives! just try it. you’ll see.

to play along:

1. just scurry over to your own blog or facebook page and create your own list (however long or short) of things you would love to do. don’t let time or resources hold you back.
2. link to my blog by either grabbing my button (html code is located in the sidebar to your right) or simply attaching the link to this post, which is http://www.themsrevolution.com/2010/05/26/play-along/.
3. comment on this post or email me (themsrevolution[at]gmail[dot]com) and let me know you’re playing.
4. then, for those who have blogs, i’ll link from my blog to yours so we can all be inspired by each other’s lists. whether you’re playing along on facebook or on a blog, let me know if you accomplish a fantasy “to do,” in the coming weeks so i can give you a shout out on my blog!
5. invite your friends to play too!

here’s what the button looks like:

now go make those lists! have more fun!

who’s playing:

• stacy
• lane (facebook)
• secret agent mom
• megan
• katherine (the originator of the fantasy to do list)
• kathi
• jessa
• lindsey
• reverendmother
• melissa
• jaime
• emmy

in a few weeks, my dear friend and fellow young clergy woman, katherine, will be moving from southern california to the chicago area. in a valiant effort of wishful thinking, intended to distract her from the very real tasks associated with changing homes, jobs, and states, katherine recently posted a “fantasy to-do list” on her blog. then she quickly admitted that, “the likelihood of any of them happening [would be] woefully slim.”

but then guess what happened? she’s been working little things from this list into her life!

now everybody who knows me is aware that i will be living in memphis until jesus comes again, which is a euphemism for A VERY LONG TIME.* but i think everybody needs a fantasy to-do list. a move is a perfect occasion for one, and so is staying put. and as i have mentioned before, my recent entry into the re[frame] productivity system for creative people has buried me in pesky little task-laden note cards. my life is begging for a little fantasy.**

so, here it is. my very own fantasy to-do list in no particular order:

1. eat at restaurant iris

2. take an exotic yoga vacation

3. take the free tour of memphis’ ghost river brewing company.

4. host a make-your-own-pizza night, using the perfected crust recipe of my friend, mary.

5. eat at the chef’s table at felicia suzanne’s.

6. write a short story

7. attend a sewing workshop in florence, alabama hosted by alabama chanin.

8. learn to use photoshop

9. attend a wailin’ jennys concert.

10. get discovered. (i stole this from katherine but really, who doesn’t want to be discovered?)

*the above reference to the second coming was meant to be evocative of the traditional interpretation of this christian hopefulness — that jesus will return, in bodily form, to the earth someday. this is in distinct contrast to my own leanings in this department, which are that divinity, in all of its forms, bombards the earth daily, and that we live in a world of constant “second comings.”

**yes, i realize that by including the word “fantasy” in this post, i am setting myself up for a spam attack of the most disgusting kind.