Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Bucket List Revisited

Have you ever met those people that make you feel infinitely inferior? We met a couple like that a couple weeks ago. I already knew he was extremely smart because Garth went to high school with him. I have heard the stories of how he tutored college kids in math while he was a sophomore in high school.

Fast forward to meeting him and his wife… They are in great shape, she is expecting this summer, they live in a nice house on a lake, she is a veterinarian, he owns a financial planning business, and he drives a sports car.

As if that wasn’t enough. They take ballroom dance classes. He is working on getting his pilot license. They rock climb. Scuba dive. Vacation. Hire someone to cut their grass.
It was like they had it all together. All figured out. They were successful. Adventurous. Accomplished. Obviously I know that everyone has their problems. But it was really hard to see that at the time. All I could think was “uhhhh we lead a small group.”

It was an eye opening experience. We are young. We are not tied down with pets or kids. We are not guaranteed our next breath. We should live life. Garth and I always said our motto for our marriage was “no regrets.” I think this was just a good reminder to not get stuck in a rut of comfortable and branch out. Experience new things.

I made a bucket list a couple years ago. Let’s see how we did:

1. Visit France to meet my sister-in-law and niece. COMPLETE! She came to us and I got to meet her and it was an incredible time.
2. Visit South Africa to meet Garth's dad, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Someday!!!
3. Make Thanksgiving dinner for our whole family. Does Friendsgiving count? And though we haven't made Thanksgiving for my family, we entertain and have made dinners for them.
4. Buy a house. COMPLETE!
5. Have babies. When the timing is right.
6. Adopt a child from South Africa. A possibility in the future.
7. Move out of Michigan. I no longer have the desire. I love the city we live in. I love our house. I love my job. I'm very content here.
8. Do the shuffle and chicken dance with Garth on our 50th anniversary. Heck yes!
9. Bake a cake. COMPLETE!
10. Travel to Italy and Greece. Someday!
11. Join a small group. COMPLETE!
12. Go on a cruise. We decided a cruise was not for us. We do not like crowds and like privacy on vacations.
13. Be a role model. Work in progress! Though my sweet Garth says I am a role model to him. Bless his heart.
14. Get rock hard abs. COMPLETE! (but then lost those rock hard abs)
15. Plan an event that sells out. COMPLETE!
16. Go on a missions trip. Need to plan this ASAP.
17. Live near (or on!) the ocean. When we retire.
18. Learn to scuba dive. I want to learn so I can scuba dive with Garth. He loves to scuba dive but needs a partner. He says it's not my style and don't need to it. I still want to someday. I think it would challenge me since I'm kinda scared about it.
19. Take Garth to Disney World. When we have kids old enough to enjoy it we will plan a trip.
20. Continue to seek God every day and live a faithful life so His will can be done. Work in progress!

Wow. A lot has changed since I wrote this list. I no longer what to live outside of Michigan. I no longer have the desire to adopt specifically from South Africa, mostly because I thought it was not possible. But it seems the U.S. joined the Hague Convention and it is still a possibility! I want to get my abs back. I will cook Thanksgiving for my whole family one day. I want to continue to work on my marriage and love Garth unconditionally. Most importantly, I want to continue seeking God in everything I do.

Overall, we didn't do so bad. We have either accomplished the goal, are planning on it in the future, and only a few have we lost desires to do all together. I look forward to doing even more that is not on this list. Country line dancing. Seeing Kenny Chesney in concert. Taking a cooking class. Traveling. Oh the places and things we will do!

9 comments:

Crissy Rae said...

I am a huge fan of bucket lists! I have one with 40 items on it and then the "master list" with over 100 items on it. They do evolve and change over time as I edit them or decide to change one up, but I also find myself adding stuff on a regular basis. It's a great way to stay out of that comfortable rut and keep things interesting. Sounds like you have some pretty great ideas on your list and I hope you can accomplish them all in time.

Kenya said...

You have inspired me to think about doing a bucket list.

Natalie said...

I need to make a bucket list! As a new mom I am constantly meeting other moms who make me feel inferior. They are put together with perfect stay at home outfits, are super crafty, and never seem to complain about their life ever. I decided last week that there was no reason I couldn't be one of those moms, well, except for a little complaining lol!

Café Moka said...

You have a great bucket list girl!
I should do one!

katie said...

What a fun list! We should do a link-up party with this idea. It would be inspiring and cool to see what would make others lists!

Adrienne said...

Aww! I love this so much. It's so funny how our perspective changes so much! When J and I married, we had all these countries we wanted to see, but then we studied Revelations and learned about what heaven and new earth will be like, and we lost a lot of the desire to see those places, because we know God has something greater! Our goals as a couple have surely changed in our [almost] year of marriage!

Live Talk with Mrs. Pancakes! said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mrs, Pancakes said...

looks like an awesome list....may have to make myself a list too!

LWLH said...

I need to revise my 101 list.