Three of my Facebook friends/family have already emailed me with their idea of what they would choose. I won't identify anyone by name but out there among you all is a person who wants to learn to speak Spanish, another who wishes to return to graduate school, and yet another who wants to be in a marathon someday. Those are very achievable "bucket list" goals and I commend them for their good ideas! That's how any good "bucket list" starts as far I am concerned.....one thought that builds upon yet another thought.
Friends, in one month I will turn the "ripe old age" of 56. My days have flown by so quickly and each successive year seems to pass by faster than the one before it. I sense the urgency within myself to do what I can to live each day to its fullest.
My "bucket list" has been revised three times since its inception in March of this year. Several things have already been accomplished, others have been removed because they just aren't as important as I once thought they were. The 10 remaining ones are those that I can "live with", kind of a weird way to look at a list that gets its name from dying. Those ten are shown below-really in no particular order.
1. To travel to Maine and see a lighthouse.
2. To learn how to sew something.
3. To return to swimming lessons at the YMCA.
4. To continue to reconnect with family members all over the United States.
5. To meet all of my Facebook friends in person and buy them something to drink.
6. To power parachute once again.
7. To be able to drive to Wichita without using Onstar.
8. To be able to help a complete stranger for the good as many times as I can.
9. To learn to drive a "standard".
10.To never let my bucket go empty....remembering my good friend's advice.... You cannot kick a full bucket.
There may be a few of those items that will have to wait until Dr. Chan dismisses me from his care in late October. For the most part though, I should be good to go on most of the others. The list gives me a place to start, a reason to "refocus" and begin anew.
If any of you out there reading this have a bucket list of your own, I'd love to see it. Even if you have only one thing on it, that's a start! If you will allow an "old timer" (that'd be me...) to give you some friendly advice, here's what it would be....DO NOT take this life for granted--I have done so. DO NOT put off what you should be doing now in life thinking that you'll try it next year--none of us are guaranteed any amount of time here on earth. Live each day as if it was the very last one you had...good advice for me and you.
I'm remembering my mom this evening as I type this blog. 4 years ago, September 25, 2007, she was called back to her home in Heaven. A room full of kids and grand kids were there as she slipped away from us. I swear to you, that room was filled with angels and I'm positive my mom saw them. She kept looking, in the hours prior to her death, into the southeast corner of the ceiling....so if you want to know the direction of Heaven...I'm guessing she saw it there.
Mom had just celebrated her 87th birthday 13 days prior, on September 12th. She was "ready to go" just waiting on her time to be done here. Those 87 years were packed full of love and devotion for family, surely some heartache, as well as some beautiful memories. Mom didn't have a bucket list, at least an official one. But I'm sure she'd be glad to know that I do. Probably she'd be telling me to get a "move on"...that I was trading daylight for dark.
And Mom, that's just what I intend to do! :)
This panel above shows Mom's best friend, Connie. They did lots of traveling together to different places around the country. They always wanted to go to Vegas but never got to. Oh boy, if they would have....... Heaven help us all! :)
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