bucket lists?

I’ve never been one for bucket lists. I am one for lists for sure or else I would forget what I need to do throughout the day, my house would be a mess, and my family would never get fed. But a bucket list? Until I found my life on hold due to the never-ending current events of 2020, I had never ever thought of a bucket list. Never. I have had accomplishments… I have run three full marathons. That’s right… 26.2 miles under four hours…. pretty darn proud of that! I have visited many, many national parks including Denali, driven the ALCAN twice, seen the Northern Lights, traveled to Europe, and skied the greatest snow on earth! I’ve had many adventures but never a bucket list.

As I sat in my house for days and days which turned into months and months, I started to wonder about a bucket list. Panic then ensued because, unlike most people, I didn’t even know what I would put on it. I was beginning to think that if I didn’t make a bucket list, I would miss out on the rest of my life!

Reflecting on all the accomplishments and adventures I’ve had these past fifty years, I realized that I’ve had a pretty good life. I’ve had amazing adventures and have had experiences that most people only dream of. And I think that’s because none of it was planned out… as a couple, my husband and I unintentionally never followed the so-called script. Our parents were of the mindset that you go to college, get a job (and stay at that job for at least 40 years), get married and start a family, buy a house (and stay in that house for at least 40 years), and then retire in the same house and same town that you’ve lived in for the past 40 years. There is something to be said for laying down roots. Definitely.

We never settled. Whenever an opportunity presented itself, we acted on it. We have explored and taken advantage of every place we’ve lived. It certainly has been an adventure and all without a bucket list.

There is something to be said about that. Instead of living a life that is planned, we are simply living.