Thursday, July 15, 2010

Bucket List.


I have been meaning to actually put this down for over a year now. It's been stirring in my brain since last summer when I helped my friend, Kelly, click one off her bucket list. Somehow, forcing yourself to put it in tangible form holds you more accountable. These are in no particular order, as is obvious by number one...

1. Milk a cow
2. Participate in a chili cook off.
3. Stay in an over the water bungalow
4. Sing in an opera
5. Build a teardrop camper
6. Build an amazing treehouse
7. Learn to surf
8. Make love in the rain
9. Take my children to Africa
10. Deliver a baby
11. Have my writing published Nationally
12. See the Pope
13. Finish my Master's degree
14. Fly in a helicopter
15. Serve on a medical mission
16. Learn to play an instrument
17. Direct a play
18. Attend a silent retreat
19. Cruise to Alaska
20. Tour the death camps in Poland
21. See the auroraborealis
22. Complete a triathalon
23. Run a 5k in under 30 minutes
24. Go to a nudist resort
25. See the pyramids
26. Participate in a protest
27. Take the kids to at least 20 of the National Parks
28. Put $100 on black
29. Sit on a jury
30. Visit Acadie
31. Memorize the rest of "Paul Revere's Ride"
32. Donate blood
33. Boil a lobster at home
34. Ballroom dance
35. Swim with seals
36. Take a bath in a tub full of warm chocolate milk

So...36 goals...so far. One for each year of my life. There are some common themes...travel and religion, for sure. There is a lot of random. There are a few that are slightly embarrassing. In fact, in a way, all of these are a wee bit embarrassing. I'm not fond of discussing in public all the things I have not done, but if you want to get things accomplished, it's best to write them down. If you had to pick three things you don't want to leave this world without accomplishing, what would they be?

3 comments:

  1. I love these lists. I've started one, too (Cristy's Can Too List). I found it reassuring to include things I've done, too, that I always wanted to do. Here are a few on my list that I've done:

    - Go to Hawaii
    - Marry for love
    - Feel like a princess on my wedding day
    - Visit NASA in Houston
    - Pass the century mark on the back of a motorcycle
    - Walk a prayer/meditation labyrinth

    And, here are three I have left that I wouldn't want to leave Earth without doing, if I can manage it:

    - Volunteer on a regular basis for something I care about
    - Teach someone to read (hopefully, several someones)
    - Travel the U.S. in an RV and/or on a motorcycle

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  2. Teaching someone to read is a fantastic one.

    I walked a prayer labryinth this year!

    I need to get back on the volunteer wagon...soon as school is over.

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  3. Lists are fun and it doesn't matter if it is a big or small list. It can be generic or very personal. It's about you and what you want to do with it.
    To echo what Cristy wrote, I have an already completed list (volunteer at our night shelter, skinny dip, see the Great Wall of China) and a current to do list (take my family to Ireland, milk a cow, etc). I also have an anti-bucket list of things I have no intention of doing (skydive, eat a McRib).

    ReplyDelete