My Bucket List vs My Always More Sh*t To Do List

Somewhere on the Internet, I came across the following bucket list ideas people have come up with:
      Change someone’s life for the better – 52%
      Get to my ideal weight – 47%
      Go on a safari – 45%
      Ride a hot air balloon – 45%
      See the Northern Lights – 45%
      Go to the Super Bowl – 43%
      Swim with dolphins – 39%
      Travel through Europe – 38%

Of course, the first thing on any list I have ever made or will ever make is to reach and maintain my ideal weight. Ha Ha! That’s not happening. 

Here are a few of MY choices: 
Change someone’s life for the better? Hopefully, I’m doing that through my writing and speaking already.

Go on a safari? Nope. I‘d rather stick closer to home and bring together lots of wild beasts (normal people with eclectic experiences) together in a salon setting at my house on a regular basis.

Ride a hot air balloon? No Way. Done it. Never doing it again. Terrified of heights. Instead, I’d like to try haggling at a street fair, re-learning how to do a cartwheel and seeing a sunrise and sunset all in the same day.

See the Northern Lights? Sure, if I could organize and execute a family trip with all five sons and their families.

Go to the Super Bowl? Hell yes! If the Cincinnati Bengals are in it – which this year they may very well be.

Swim with the dolphins? Nope, I’d rathefr learn how to read tarot cards, finally figure out, after 12 years of having one, how to work my convection oven and learn the techniques of operating a potter’s wheel.
. 
Travel through Europe? Sure, but also visit Sedona, Key West and Israel. 

I also get very confused between my two lists. I’m trying to keep them separate but they keep bleeding into each other.

On what list do the following belong – my Bucket List or my Sh*t To Do List? It’s all so perplexing. 
     Try all the new owner operated restaurants that have opened up in my neighborhood
     Figure out how to combine my love of collage and knitting into saleable art
     Learn to use an electric drill
     Get more henna tattoos
     Own a pair of stilettos with red bottoms
     Attend another high school reunion
     Host a family reunion
     Put a purple streak in my hair
     Get a few more earring holes in my ears
     Hike a bunch of local trails and the beach

Even with all my whittling, my bucket list grows longer and longer every year – it’s now ginormous. It’s become my buddy – my security blanket. I take it out when I need soothing and I proceed to analyze it. Alter it. Highlight it. Cross items off. Write in items again. Update. Revise.

And my life seems to be busier than ever – getting in the way of crossing off items on my Bucket List.

How could that be?
I raised five children without ever seeming to have a spare moment and now they are out of the house, and I still can’t find the time to pare down my list and accomplish each item.

I’m still yearning to:
     Master the art of snapping great photos with my iPhone
     Take a weekly Yoga class
     Bake challah regularly
     Rent a luxurious RV and embark on a road trip –freeways off limits – destination: small towns along the way
     Organize my columns to preserve my newsletters 
     Learn Canasta
     Take a weekend jaunt with each of my grandkids    
     Divide up my prized possessions among my grandchildren to prevent squabbling when I pass on 

And most of all, on every list I will ever compile, I will always leave room for more Sugar Cookie Moments.

Here are some of yours:

From Julie  C.
This is a picture of my dad,  who never got to meet his great granddaughter in person, meeting her via a photograph and giving her a kiss. This is one of my many sugar cookie moments. 💝 j

Susan H.
This is a photo of my husband, myself, our son, his wife and their 3 children on Christmas morning.  We thought it would be fun to wear matching pjs to open gifts. We wore them all day!!  

Until next time, Keep Preserving Your Bloom (and by the way, put that on one of your lists, too),

Iris Ruth Pastor

PS For all of my loyal readers who sent in pics of sugar cookie moments, thank you so much.

WHAT’S ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?