My New Bucket List

So I have, along with tons of other people, the proverbial “Bucket List”. I think I called it my “wish list” or “to – do list” before the movie…but I like Bucket List much better.

It seems that in the past, as I got older, my wants and desires got a little crazier; go sky diving, get a tattoo, climb Mt. Fuji. Now, maybe it is the control freak in me, but those desires have been skewed a bit. Instead of jumping out of an airplane, I think I want to fly one. Instead of getting a tattoo, I got several ankle bracelets – not only are they pain-free, but I can change them like I change my mind. Instead of climbing Mt. Fuji, I will be content to eat sushi and drink sake at least once a week.

I hate to say this, but it seems my new additions to the list have gotten quite boring: a dishwasher that actually cleans without pre-washing; a manicure that will last longer than 4 days; jeans that fit every single time; red wine that doesn’t stain; being able to eat a loaf of sourdough bread and a half pound of chocolate without beating myself up about it; joints and muscles that don’t hurt when I exercise and dance Zumba.

Kinda boring eh? Well, in the words of Stevie Nicks (who I believe gets better looking as she ages) “But time makes you bolder, Children get older, I'm getting older too...I'm getting older too...” I know my children are getting older. And I know I’m getting older too. But I always forget that part of the song - time makes you bolder. So I ponder “my reflection in the snow covered hills”, and realize, because I am getting older, I cannot give up on getting bolder.

So though I don’t want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane anymore, I would gladly take the wheel of one and laugh as others do so. I do want to do a zip line, go white water rafting, and climb the hills of Ohio. I want to continue to have no fear, to be bold, and to not feel guilt or worry. My Bucket List will include smiling at my passerby, helping those that need it, dancing and singing and laughing and praying – and not feel pressured or self-conscious about any of it. I want to live my life with no regrets, having fulfilled my passions and dreams. In the words of John Denver, I want to be, I want to live!

“We are standing all together, face to face and arm in arm. We are standing on the threshold of a dream. No more hunger, no more killing, no more wasting life away. It is simply an idea and I know it’s time has come. I want to live I want to grow – I want to see I want to know. I want to share what I can give. I want to be, I want to live.”

So, what’s on your Bucket List?