Thursday, May 19

Some things to do before I die ...

Alex is grounded (still) and one of my favorite things to do when she is not allowed to watch TV is watch things I know she hates. As I was flipping through channels to find something suitable I stopped on the Bucket List. Jack Nicholson was laying in bed in the hospital room he shared with Morgan Freedman. Why did these men not win Oscars for this movie? Granted, I only watched for another ten minutes because as soon as Jack started puking- a side affect of chemo treatments - they were venturing in to memories I'd rather not relive and so I changed the channel.

But it got me thinking. What is on my bucket list? I'm probably too young to make one. I'm sure this list of things I want to do before I die will change before I die. Already, I'm not too sure how important some of them are to me. It was still interesting to think about and to see what it is I have going on in my head. Traveling an decluttering seem to be main themes. There are 40 things because it is the number of Journey. They aren't listed in a particular order.

1) Learn to sew – like FOR REAL. [This is something I have dabbled in a lot over the years. I would like to actually sew something more useful than a pillow.]


2) Start and continue an exercise regime for three months, even if it kills me [God, I'm lazy]

3) Stay away from restaurants/cafes for 3 months [Yup, still lazy]

4) Learn to accept my body and all its imperfections (yeah, right)

5) Read some more classic novels I should have already read

6) Go to Paris with a man

7) Spend a summer in the United Kingdom

8) Go to Vancouver

9) Visit Alex while she's attending New York University and take her to a Broadway play [I’ve always wanted to live in New York City. I should at least attempt to live vicariously through my baby.]

10) Take Alex on an insane road trip that involves educational opportunities crazy tourist traps and at least one fancy haunted hotel
11) Take an art class of some sort

12) If I’m going to get married, I’d like to do it before I’m 40 [if not – oh well.]

13) Finish writing a book [should probably start it too.]

14) Go through all my artwork and select some to matte and frame. AND hang them on a wall

15) Gather pictures of Alex’s childhood and compile them into a coffee table scrapbook thing

16) Spend an entire 24 hour day without cussing once [I should try to do this one before I become a minister]

17) Let my child make a really big mistake without pointing it out to her – and then calling every single relative to let them know about it [I don't think I'll ever be able to do this... ever]

18) Own a pearl necklace

19) Have enough disposable income to be able to donate large sums to people and organizations I care about

20) Get that Tree of Life tattoo I’m always thinking about

21) Dig out my paints and easel and paint a new painting and hang it on my wall

22) Create another Art Car
23) Read Little Women aloud to Alex [I might have to wait until she is in a comma to do this.]

24) Take Alex to a rock concert, cheer and pretend I am a fan of crowds and loud music for the night [then again, I might just wait until she is 16, buy her concert tickets and hand her the keys to my car]

25) Befriend someone who knows how to fix everything and works for free

26) Write in a journal every day until all the pages are full

27) Make it a habit to drink 8 glasses of water a day [though I am beginning to think if it were actually good for us to drink this much water God would have added caffeine]

28) Finish my masters degree [starting on this one soon]

29) Get rid of all the things in my house that are just clutter and would benefit someone else [I'm trying, but convincing other people that their stuff is crap and they should get rid of it, isn't easy]

30) Build a bonfire, make hot chocolate, and have a party and enjoy it

31) Change the course of another person's life for the better
32) Make a really good meal completely from scratch for no real reason and invite people over and enjoy it

33) Buy some expensive bras and matching underwear. [I like the idea of this, though shopping for a bra isn't all that exciting]

34) Watch every movie on the IFC top 100 list [I already sat through Citizen Kane the rest couldn’t be THAT bad.]

35) Buy a plant and keep it alive, instead of treating plants as if they are meant to be disposable

36) Attend a wine tasting class and discover what it is I’m supposed to be tasting

37) Go through the stuff I left at my parent’s house [or just toss it all into the dumpster]

38) Organize a box for Alex to hold her special childhood crap memorabilia, limit size of said box so that she can never say she doesn't have room for it in her own house

39) Spend some amount of time by myself on retreat

40) Come to grips with the fact that there is no way everything will be exactly as I wish it would be

1 comment:

The Bug said...

This is a great list. If you go to Vancouver you could visit Jo! That would be cool (besides the fact that Vancouver is such a great place anyway - or so I've been told).

I love the ones about Alex - especially the giving her a box thing. Man I still have stuff here at my dad's house. Some of it I really want to keep, but it would help all of us out if I'd go through it & figure all that out before he's gone. The card I posted today is something my mom had saved, & I took that big folder of things home last time I was here. But how do you know what will really be meaningful?

I feel the strongest urge to fix you up with someone. Except I don't have a someone to introduce you to. Sigh.