Born Organized
People often ask me if I was born organized. No, I was not; I was born to an organized mother.
From the moment I arrived, she was ready: bottles in place, diapers folded with the pins nearby, onesies in every size for the first six months. As I grew up, her organized ways encompassed every area of our lives, from making dinner to helping us with our homework to decorating for the holidays. She was organized every day. Like all children, I watched her closely, even though I did not necessarily realize I was doing that. Her ways became my ways. We are both organized, but my mom was far more organized then I am. Actually, she is the most organized person I have ever met. She is the most organized person in the world.
Last year I spent weeks at home rehabbing from foot surgery. I must admit I do love being home. It reminds me of when I was a little girl living in the big pink house in Port Chester, New York. I remember early mornings as a preschooler when all the men would leave for work, the older kids would go to school, and I would be home with my mom, my grandmother downstairs and my aunt upstairs. I clearly recall a sunny morning in September, standing on the front porch with my mom and Nana, waving goodbye as my older brother went to school. We three girls turned and went in the house to start our day. When I was home last year, I still got that same feeling after my boyfriend left in the morning and I was home alone. It was quiet and peaceful and comforting. I could feel my mom and Nana standing beside me in those moments.
I actually looked forward to my rehab time at home as an opportunity to catch up on some everyday things and larger projects. First on my list was to “get the book out.” I wrote a book about my organized mom called Happily Organized: Little Stories About My Mom, the Most Organized Person in the World. Writing the book was such a pleasure. However, getting the book from my notebook into a format for others to read has been a much longer journey then the actual writing. It is a whole new world for me, with many stumbling blocks and a wide learning curve. But finally it is completed.
In this book, I would like to introduce you to my mother, Marian Julia Lovallo Arbusto. She is quirky, funny, and incredibly organized. I’ll tell you little stories about her everyday organizing ways. My goal is for you to learn how to get organized through storytelling. There are lots of step-by-step, how-to organizing books to choose from. While they are certainly valuable, this book of genuine, personal stories offers another avenue to learn about organizing, a way that is more natural and easy to read. Please join me as I relive sweet memories of being raised by the most organized person in the world.
Susan