On the small bulletin board in my home office hangs a yellowed and dog-eared sheet of paper. It’s my bucket list.

Not long after my husband died, almost forty years ago now, I sat down and made a list of all the things that I had ever wanted to do or try. Some were very simple, while others required a lot of planning. Some seemed ridiculous when I looked at them written down, but I decided they should remain on the list. Some shocked me. My paper filled up quickly, but I continued to add items as they came to me. It gave me a sense of direction that I needed at that time. It made me feel secure for some strange reason.

I had become a single parent virtually overnight, and I remember feeling almost paralyzed by fear. I knew it was time to put my “big girl” pants on. Three people were depending on me…. my two kids and I.

There is a quote from “Dead Man Walking” that comes to mind, “you had better get busy living, or get busy dying…..”. My bucket list got me busy living again. It gave me goals beyond just the routines of everyday life. I had something to look forward to accomplishing and I really needed that. Besides, my kids needed a role model.

Making the list was fun actually. It made me really think about myself for the first time in many years.

First on my list was “Graduate from university”. I had been taking courses over the years, but it was time to buckle down and get this important item out of the way. And so I did. The fall of that first year of many changes, I graduated from Trent University with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. It felt amazing to look into the audience and see my son and daughter clapping for me.

Well, that was the first of a long list of items and at my first opportunity, I marked it off as completed in yellow highlighter. As I accomplished each thing, I marked them off as well. As you can clearly see, there are entries that are as yet unmarked, but I’m working on them, and it is very gratifying to see how far I have come. I continue to add to the bottom when a thought strikes me.

So, then, do you have a bucket list? If not, take the time to sit down with paper and pencil and make your own list. It might surprise you the things that turn up on it. They do not have to be grand and complicated, just significant to you. 

Thanks for reading,

Penny xo ♥