Bucket List

Like most domestic engineers (like that fancy title?), aka stay at home moms, my day is full of domestic hoopla – which sounds much more exciting than it is. The laundry is in constant rotation, the dirty dishes seem to have reproductive capabilities and I run a full-service restaurant 3 times a day and a food truck serving snacks twice a day. I knew what I was getting into when I signed up for this gig and I truly love it, BUT… for this lover of list and the sheer delight I take in cross an item off a list, having a long list of to-dos and no real ability to do any significant amount of list crossing is a problem. You may find me writing something down I’ve just done, just for the purpose of crossing it off. It’s an illness.

Here’s an odd bit of info about me – I sometimes think about my funeral. Not in an “oh I can’t wait for it” kind of way, because I definitely do not intend on RSVP’ing to that party any time soon. But I often wonder who’ll show up and what people will say about me. Trust me, this little mind wandering activity can really put your life into perspective. You’ll make a special effort to get together with those people in your life that are important to you. It’s part of why I decided to be a stay at home mom – I knew my kids would be at my funeral, but I wasn’t sure any of those co-workers would be. So why am I spending all my time with them? Thankfully I am blessed with this option. So what are they going to say about you? Well when the eulogy in your head is really not that exciting, as is the case with me, it inspires you to want to have some more life experiences.

I do not want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well. – Diane Ackerman

Now, if you happen to be like me and have very young children, getting your hair cut can require the coordination of many people’s schedules…. drop the kids off with family, coordinate your hubby to get home early etc. As with a hair cut, if I don’t plan for the life experiences they’ll never happen. So I’ve decided to start a bucket list (which will evolve as my life evolves).

The truth is, there is some fear in writing this list, because what if no list crossing occurs? What if I end up living my life to the length of it and not to the width of it? Well, thankfully that Bucket List movie has got me covered.

You know, the ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls got to the entrance to heaven, the guards asked two questions. Their answers determined whether they were able to enter or not. ‘Have you found joy in your life?’ ‘Has your life brought joy to others?’ – The Bucket List movie

Thankfully, if I were to meet these guards today they would get two enthusiastic yes’.

THE LIST

This list is a work in progress. It’s hard to think of everything you want to do in life in one go.

Travel to…

I’ve already been blessed with opportunities to travel to Ireland, Spain, France, Mexico, Cuba, various Islands in the Carribbean, and parts of Canada (including the most Eastern point in Canada – which is awesome) and the United states (Grand Canyon is a highlight). But I still want to travel to…