Beyond my Bucket List

Dear friends,

I'd like to take a quick moment and thank you for following along with my adventures.  Though I know I haven't met all of you who read this blog, I'm thankful for every one of you.

Last week, I had the opportunity to get to know a fascinating woman.  This is a woman who has achieved great success in her life.  When I first met her, she was speaking to a group I was a part of and I found myself oddly drawn to her.  I couldn't exactly pinpoint why it was, but I made a point of introducing myself to her at the completion of the event.  Not only was her story incredible and inspiring, but there seemed to be something radiating from within her.  Happiness?  Success?  Contentment?  I really didn't know what it was, but I liked her.

She agreed to have coffee with me and impart some wisdom on career paths.  We talked a bit on careers, but quickly discovered we share a love for adventure, travel and new experiences.  The conversation changed gears and we shared some of our favorite experiences as well as a few items from our bucket lists.  I found that she had done some of the things I have not yet checked off my bucket list, so once again, she was inspiring me.  I enjoyed my time with her very much and left considering a lot of my favorite memories and adventures.  

I truly hope each and every one of you has a Bucket List.  I mean a true, written down list that you do everything you can to pursue the dreams on it.  I certainly have mine.  It is an ever evolving list.  There are currently 20 items on my list that have yet to be checked off and, believe me, I'm focused making them all happen.  Little by little, I WILL achieve everything.

There is another list I keep as well and that's the one I want to share with you today.  It is a list of some of the experiences I've had and skills I've learned that I treasure.  Some were crossed off my bucket list, others were more random opportunities.  It's important to remember the things you've accomplished.  Sometimes when I feel like there is still so much I want to do in my life and feel overwhelmed trying to figure out how I am going to manage to do everything, I look back on the things I have done and revel in how much fun I've had.  The list below is a piece of the list I copied and pasted from my personal document.  The grammar is massively inconsistent  so please forgive me.  I just wanted to share some of these things with you and remind you that not every accomplishment or adventure has to be extraordinary, expensive or life-changing.  An adventure is an adventure because it brought you joy and opened your eyes to something new, whether it be great or small.

Things I've Done

Bungee Jumped

Parasailed 

On the field for first NFL game of the season

Climbed the fence at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Water-ski

Own & ride motorcycles

Own a boat

Can drive a backhoe

Can drive a bobcat

Can drive a forklift

Got tattoos

Slept on the beach

Barrell Raced in a rodeo in Bandera, TX

Played cowbell in a steel drum band

Traveled to Italy

Swam in Mediterranean

Swam in Gulf of Mexico

Swam in Atlantic

Swam in Pacific

Learned to weld

Hunting

Own a home

Ride a mechanical bull

Drive a houseboat

Clean fish

Clean turtles

Hiked up a mountain for the sunset

Helped deliver a calf

Hang Glide

Participated in a 5K

Rode a painted horse in the Rio Grande

Listen to a Native American Storyteller

Spent time with Grampa in hospital & nursing home & held his hand when I thought I’d lose him right then

Was in a TV commercial

Learned to mountain bike at Women’s mountain biking clinic

Sprint Distance Triathalon

Met Garth Brooks!

Install laminate flooring in a whole house

Put on fireworks show at the lake

Mud Run

Trap shooting

Ziplining

Album release party in Nashville

Built a cabin porch in my living room

Hiked on the Appalachian Trail