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March 24, 2025 11 mins

“Chelsea’s Checklist” serves as a wonderful reminder for both children and parents about the power of organization. In a world where daily tasks can quickly become overwhelming, the story illustrates how a simple checklist can help restore control and bring order to our lives. By embracing the art of making lists, Chelsea learns to navigate her day with confidence and clarity, ultimately showing us that taking charge of our responsibilities can lead to a more balanced and manageable life.


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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, hey, Curiosity Cove listeners, Guess what, Ella the Curious
is not just in your ears, She's about to be
in your hands. That's right. My brand new children's book
I Got It From My Mama is coming out on
April twenty second, and you can pre order it right now.
If you love the magic of Curiosity Cove, you're going
to adore this heartwarming story about the special things we

(00:23):
inherit from our moms. Hit the link in the show notes,
or head to Amazon or fort hyphensumter dot com to
snag your copy. Early adventure awaits this time on your bookshelf.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Pencil to paper, sketching you art on this page. What
kind of journey will this strawing brain to Today? Another
adventure awaits for you. Heo, Scout and Laila, my com

(01:02):
along too. It's imagination time and Curiosity Come Curiosity.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Come. It's a magical.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Place come true. Welcome to Adventures to Curiosity.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Come Hello, it's me Ella the Curious. Whether you're joining
us for the first time or coming back for more adventures,
I'm thrilled to have you here. Welcome back to season
two of the Adventures of Curiosity Cove, where each episode

(01:48):
we dive into one of my own lla, The Curious Adventures,
or listen to an original story right here in my
cozy treehouse. Picture this. We're nestled among the trees, surrounded
by comfy bean bag piles of fluffy pillows, and yes,
my favorite stuffy roe is here too. It's like we've
stepped into a peaceful world, almost as if my mom

(02:09):
used her relaxing dream spray to set the toad. It's
just peace and quiet, perfect for story time. So what
are we waiting for? Let's continue today's tale, Chelsea's Checklist,
Part two. Are you ready to listen? I sure am
all right, let's do it.

Speaker 3 (02:34):
Chelsea, her mom and dad, and Aunt Mary all walked
down to the cafeteria of the retirement home to find
many groups of sweet elderly people filing into line to
get their lunch. Aunt Mary hugged and kissed them all
and jumped into line, where she was greeted by other
sweet women and men. On the drive home, Chelsea was
in deep thought.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
What a story Aunt Mary had that was interesting?

Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yeah, how about the five day train ride? I thought
five hours was unbearable?

Speaker 1 (03:04):
Hmm, I'm really thinking about the checklist. Oh yeah, if
I could have a checklist for morning and chores, I
think I could get things done a lot faster and
then be able to start chipping away at my fun checklist.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
I think that makes a lot of sense.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
Yes, And if you get your.

Speaker 3 (03:24):
Chelsea's dad nudges her, mom enticing her to allow Chelsea
to figure it out on her own. Chelsea notices and smiles.
So what's on the fun checklist?

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Play video games? Go outside and play on my play structure,
paint in color, swing on my aerial swing, play more games.
And if I just get my checklist done first thing
in the morning, I will have all the time to
do whatever else I want to do. Right. That's all
you have to do, right.

Speaker 3 (03:53):
But there are going to be some days when I
ask you to help me wash the car or help
me mow grass.

Speaker 1 (03:59):
I mean, I don't I'm doing that. I actually like
helping you wash the cars.

Speaker 3 (04:03):
Well, I actually like you helping me wash the cars.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
And I may need you to help me cook, set
the table or wash dishes. Mom, that's not work. You know.
I love helping you cook, and washing the dishes is
a breeze.

Speaker 3 (04:18):
The next few days, Chelsea had a renewed love for checklists.
She made morning checklists, after noon checklists, checklists for each
after school activity, lunch checklist, nighttime checklist. She even made
grocery checklists for her mom and home renovation and maintenance
checklist for her dad. Jeez, the toilet seat's broken again.

Speaker 1 (04:38):
Yep, I got a few toys in here that needs
batteries too.

Speaker 3 (04:42):
Well, looks like I'm gonna have to hire a helping hand.
Do you know of anyone in the area looking for
some part time work? Must be a wizard with a
Phillips head screwdriver and be able to identify the gambit
of different sized batteries from double A to Why is
this thing so tiny?

Speaker 1 (04:59):
Well, I've been a job recruiter here for quite some time,
and I only know one girl in these parts that
still does that kind of work. She's pricey, but she's
the best.

Speaker 3 (05:09):
Well, she ain't the best. I don't want her. After
six days of checklists, Chelsea didn't want to look at
another checklist. She tried to hide it from her parents
because for some reason, she felt ashamed. She'd been the
little checklist queen of the house for five to six days,
and now she's abandoning her duties. She tried to sneak

(05:30):
around the house and avoid her mom and dad as
much as she could, until she heard her dad all right, Chelse,
what's on the checklist today?

Speaker 1 (05:38):
Dad? Can you just leave me?

Speaker 3 (05:41):
Chelsea cut her response short when she saw her dad's
expression shift from excitement to hurt, like he was trying
to process what just happened, wondering if he'd somehow missed
the mark he'd always been her positive ally offering support
without judgment. But the tone of the remark stung, even
if she hadn't meant it to. She could feel the

(06:03):
air between them shift, and suddenly the warmth of her
father's excitement evaporated, leaving a cold gap she hadn't meant
to create. Oh sorry, Dad, it's just no, it's it's okay.
Sorry if it seemed I was overstepping, I'll give you
some space. Chelsea wanted to rebut but her dad had
already moved on and headed to the garage. Chelsea thought

(06:26):
she may just need some food, but when she got
to the kitchen, her mom was there making coffee and singing.

Speaker 1 (06:33):
Hey, honey, what's on the checklist today?

Speaker 3 (06:36):
Mom?

Speaker 1 (06:36):
Please?

Speaker 3 (06:37):
But Chelsea didn't have the words to express how she felt.
She wasn't even sure how she felt. She just knew
she didn't want to talk about checklists today. Her mom
tried to make a joke.

Speaker 1 (06:49):
Ooo, okay, well I'll just back away slowly. I'm not
in the mood to joke. Mom. Oh okay, okay, Well
I'll be here if you want to talk.

Speaker 3 (07:02):
Chelsea's dad pop back into the kitchen to see that
there was fresh coffee. Oh god, bless you, honey, you
made coffee. Thank you, sure thing. I'm just gonna grab
a cup then be in the garage.

Speaker 1 (07:15):
Dad.

Speaker 3 (07:16):
Yes, dear, I'm sorry.

Speaker 1 (07:18):
I kind of snapped at you.

Speaker 3 (07:20):
That's okay, thanks for apologizing. Is everything all right?

Speaker 1 (07:24):
I don't know. I just woke up feeling like I
don't want to do a checklist today, which made me
want to avoid you guys, because I feel bad that
I don't want to do one. Why would you feel
bad for not wanting to do a checklist today? I
don't know, because I've been doing checklists for the past
a lot of days.

Speaker 3 (07:42):
Well maybe that's the perfect reason that you don't want
to do one today. How much have you accomplished in
these past a lot of days? So much. And how
do you feel today?

Speaker 1 (07:56):
Well, really proud of myself, but really tired today. Do
you feel burnt out? Yes? Well maybe you just need
a break today? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (08:06):
I do. And how does that make you feel talking
about it? Ugh?

Speaker 1 (08:10):
Relieved? I mean I really enjoyed making checklists.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
Well do you think maybe you just went a little
too hard on the checklist and maybe you'll enjoy having
one or two?

Speaker 1 (08:22):
I mean, yeah, but how am I going to fit
it all on one checklist? Well? Like it? Mary said,
maybe you can prioritize your checklist and have your daily checklist,
weekly checklist, and your monthly checklist. I can even do
a yearly checklist. You could, and your father and I
are always here to help if you need.

Speaker 3 (08:42):
Chelsea got up and walked to the paper drawer, pulled
out a sheet of paper and a pen, and wrote
checklist today. Relax. Then she wrote below it, checklist for tomorrow.
Make daily, weekly, monthly checklist.

Speaker 1 (09:00):
Okay, last conversation about checklist today, Dad, one item on
your checklist, Make Chelsea some chocolate chip pancakes the end.
Whoo Ah, those checklists sound like a lot of work. Boy,
Do I understand what Chelsea's going through. Sometimes I feel

(09:22):
like my day also controls me. Huh, I'm gonna make
a checklist too. I hope you enjoyed our podcast story
as much as I did. Oh boy, was I comfy
and cozy and all tuned in. If you loved what
you listened to, please leave us a five star review,
but only if you really mean it. We love hearing
your feedback. It helps us grow so we can continue

(09:44):
to bring stories to you in all our curious listeners.
You never know you might even get a shout out
from me here in the cove. All right, I need
a snack, so I'm headed back home. Until next time. Friends,
we never say goodbye. It's always see you later. Be
sure to subscribe to our podcast, The Adventures of Curiosity Cove,

(10:07):
on your favorite podcast platform and on our Instagram page
at Love Fort Sumter. Remind your parents to subscribe to
our newsletter at Fort Hyphensumter dot com. They'll get early
updates on what's going on around here for them and
for you. Adventures of Curiosity Cove was created by Tika
Sumter and Nicholas Muscarella. Today's story was written by Nicholas

(10:31):
James Muscarella. Adventures of Curiosity Coves theme song was written
and composed by Mattie Limb and sung by Laura Saraphine.
Engineered by Robert Aultchuler, sound effects by Command Creative Studios.
Ella the Curious is an original story series created by
Tika Sumter.

Speaker 2 (10:51):
At Curiosity Cove. Curiosity Come, It's a magical place.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
Come try.

Speaker 2 (11:04):
Welcome to Adventures Up, Curiosity Come.

Speaker 1 (11:17):
This is a fort Sumter production. Did you pre order yet?
Because I got it from my mama as landing April
twenty second, and you don't want to miss it. It's
filled with love, laughter, and all the wonderful things we
get from our mamas. Tap the link in the show
notes to grab yours now on Amazon or fortsumter dot
com and if you pre order, you'll also have it

(11:39):
in your hands before you know it
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