Lists

A long time ago--15 years, maybe--I made a list of things that I wanted to accomplish.

I had recently read a story in the ubiquitous Chicken Soup for the Soul about John Goddard. 

I was inspired, to say the least.

Back in the day of the Franklin Planner (yes, I do believe this dates me), I finished one of my English tests in class a little early and had some time to kill.  So, in those little, tiny, not-wide-enough-for-anyone-with-normal-handwriting ruled lines, I began my list.

Some of the things were obvious:  Graduate from high school with good grades.  Go to college.  Get married.  Have a family.

Some things were ridiculous:  Beat Derek and Jeff in an arm wrestle.

Some scared me to death:  Compete in the Miss Farmington Pageant.  (Yes, I did that.  And no, I am not a "pageant girl"...have you ever seen me???)

And a whole slew of others were the dreams and schemes of my childhood and adolescence. 

I'm happy to say that I've been able to cross a lot of those items off my list.  And that my list has morphed with time, experience (aka maturity) and the advent of the Internet in every home.

Just this past Christmas, I received a curious gift:  An envelope with a single sheet of paper inside.  On that paper was a single-sentence note written by mine truly, along with some coordinates.

It was a treasure hunt

Which...led us up a snowy mountain, into some trees to a white bucket with a large bow on top.

Twenty-minutes and a few hundred grunts later (apparently the bucket had somehow been adult-proofed), we finally cracked it open.

Inside was a list.

John Goddard's list.

I don't recall ever really telling Aaron how much that list had inspired me.

And if I did, it was in passing, and my husband deserves the Best Listener Award 2010.

Then, I got it...the bucket...the list...the...Bucket List.

He then spoke of adventure and achievement and how there's so much in life to live. 

And then my heart melted into a puddle on the floor...

Somewhere next to my boots and the mangled bucket lid.

That evening we found ourselves having steamers in a place where it all began for us nearly four years ago, adding to our Lists.

I was the designated scribe and fielded his brainwaves as he fired them off.  And then, I did the same.  When we were done, it was quite the list.  Leading me to almost want to believe in reincarnation.

And so it goes.

Life marches on.

I again hang my anticipation and excitement on my recenlty-revised list, which still encompasses the obvious, the ridiculous, the things that scare me snotless, and the dreams and schemes of what is now my adulthood.

Just a few days ago, my dad remarked, "I hope you realize how grand your adventure has been so far."

I pressed pause for a moment and reflected on that.

Yes, I think I do.

I think I also realize I've been blessed beyond even that which was ever written on my list.

I think it would be my wish that every person has a moment in their life when one of their heart's greatest desires is granted. Regardless of its position on the scale of grandiose.

And I think it's possible.

So, tonight, I offer a challenge...to you blessed, faceless few who happen to find yourselves here on occasion:

Dream big.

And realize that life is for the living,

Experiences are for the taking,

And that there is a God in Heaven who wishes for us all the grandest of adventures we can handle.

And then stand back and watch with amazement where your list takes you...