The English first invented the term,” to kick the bucket” in the late 18th Century. Hollywood later adopted and galloped away with it…….Rope. Bucket. Hanging. In 2008, actors Freeman and Nicholson were cast as two terminally-ill characters and hospital roomies. As the plot thickened, the two hatched up their end-of-life laundry list of to-dos, and “the bucket list” became a part of American pop culture. Today there are numerous websites devoted to bucket lists. No kidding.
Not in a million years have I ever dreamed of being ahead of Jack Nicholson’s curve in anything, but, today, may I just strut my stuff? Seven years ago, before Jack and Morgan even thought of it, I was doing it. In all honesty, I borrowed the idea from Evelyn, a friend of a friend. It had nothing to do with the before-I-die issue, which seems morbid to me. Every year, on her birthday, Evelyn lists what she would like to accomplish, experience, see, learn, and know in the coming year. And, get this, her Everything List matches, in number, her age. Holy One-through-Sixty.
For her, it’s not about slowing down but gearing up. Evelyn, I salute you.
Seven years ago, on my October birthday and still in my 50s, I created my premiere list. First, however, I set the ground rules:
1)Every item must be new, something I wasn’t doing or hadn’t done.
2)No pie-in-the-sky entries. Everything must be possible or probable. (Climbing Kilimanjaro went off the table when I turned 50.)
3) My list would remain private (until today) and reviewed quarterly.
The miracle of this birthday exercise is apparently what it represented to me. That, despite the seismic disturbance and shock of my husband’s illness, I still was determined to keep driving through life with our lights on bright. Although his might have dimmed over the past seven years, mine, thankfully, have not. In fact, Evelyn’s idea not only launched this blog but birthed the title.
My List, like every other, has been blessed with hits and cursed with misses. On an early list was Learn French, which brought forth my first rule revision. Now, if necessary, items can be carried over from year to year. I have been at this Learn French-business for seven years. Despite my serious study and having become acceptably proficient in reading, writing, and understanding, conversation is slow and limited to three running sentences. C’est tout! But, I can buy bread, book a hotel, reserve a table and am very, very courteous. Merci.
I’ve flunked Doing the New York Times Crossword Puzzle in Pen and have totally failed Learn Sudoku.
After moving to Nevada, having never gambled, I listed both Play Bingo and Play Poker in a Casino . Done. Although I won $50 playing Bingo, I lost $20 playing Poker. From that experience I learned you do not take to the poker table a cocktail napkin on which are handwritten the ascending order of poker hands! Entertainment Icons who perform in Las Vegas often go on my list. Cher. Elton John. Barry Manilow, Celine Dion. Bette Midler. Reba McIntire. Seen. This year it will be Donny and Marie. Surely, I jest. Not at all, they are selling-out their showroom at $200 a seat!
Although I possess a 20th century-brain, I intend to utilize every 21st-century hi-tech toy. Every year I list a must-buy and then attempt to make it work. iPod. iPod Touch. MacBookPro. iPad. I hold tenure in Apple’s One-on-One program, a teaching tool to assist customers with new products. Although there’s a two-year limit, I’ve whined my way into Year 5. This year it’s an iPhone 5, I cherish. Take a deep breath.
Eating healthy is a constant challenge. Eating alone, not particularly pleasurable. Last year, in the healthy department, using Deborah Madison’s “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” as my text, I tackled Vegetables. Still wanting to expand my limited repertoire and since her classic tome is 723-pages in length, I continue to slice and dice this year.
I find it difficult to savor a home-cooked meal, no matter how delicious, by myself. While I still cannot celebrate the pleasure of cooking for one, I have been helped immensely by reading “The Pleasures of Cooking for One”. It’s written by Judith Jones, the legendary editor of some of the world’s greatest cooks, Julia, being one. Written more than a decade after the death of her husband, Evan, this recipe book, not only honors his memory but encourages me to keep trying.
My cooking buddies from afar, MarySue, who operates a cooking school, and Judy, a wonderful cook who does enjoy her solitary meals, as well as Michelle, my neighbor and professionally-trained chef, who practices law, have all taken me under their culinary wings, sharing friendship through tips and recipes.
Each year, I come up with a fresh, revised, and, yes, longer list. This year, to the astonishment of my family, I’ve already accomplished a newbie, Do One Thing That Scares Me, by getting my ears double-pierced! (Remember, I’m from Iowa.) Travel adventures? The Galapagos, maybe. Intellectual pursuits? Read more Shakespeare (to be truthful, any Shakespeare would be good). And, after subscribing to The New Yorker since 2005, this year I hope to find time to actually read it! Family and friends? Get all the family photos in albums. And, why not stop making my daughter insane by stuffing my granddaughters with junk food. (Although Clara, age 7, reminds me sadly, “Grandma, you know at home it’s vegetables, vegetables, vegetables.) Exercise Routine? Yoga, regularly. And, more, of course.
My favorite addition this year was lifted from a “lululemon athletica” shopping bag: Dance, Sing, Floss And Travel. That, alone, took up four spots!
With thanks to my friend, Ardyth, currently traveling on business in Ireland, for taking the time to stop and smell the heather, sharing it with me today from her iPhone.