Bucket List

For a while, I could not think of anything to write about this week. Then I thought back to a conversation I had with my friend on our road trip.

We had just visited The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and had the opportunity to look through a fancy telescope that allowed us to view the sun in all its midday glory. Not only did we get to see the sun in the middle of day without scorching our retinas beyond repair, we also were able to see a sunspot blemishing the surface.

We both thought it was pretty cool, because we’re both giant nerds. But it also sparked the topic of things we’d like to see and do while we’re still gracing the Earth with our awesome presence.

Except I’m not that awesome

Here’s a small sample of the things I hope to accomplish before I die.

1. Get married, have kids, the whole she-bang.
2. Finish my To-Read List. If you’ve seen it, you know this is probably mostly impossible.
3. See the Milky Way. I want to see ALL THE STARS. I live in a too light polluted area to see anything besides Orion’s Belt and the Big Dipper.
4. Visit Washington D.C.
5. Visit Yellow Stone National Park.
6. Plant and maintain a garden. I really like perennials and want to plant a perennial garden. SOON.
7. Visit Hawaii
8. Visit Italy. All of it. I want to spend about six months there.
9. Visit Greece.
10. See the pyramids.
11. Visit Scotland.
12. Visit every National League ballpark in America.
13. Make a substantial donation to a charity
14. Leave a huge tip for the hell of it. Like $1000 at a Red Lobster
15. Get a dog, more specifically a Corgi.
16. Celebrate in the Festival of Holi.
17. See every Brewers game in a season.
18. Gain a specialty in my nursing field.
19. Finish my started scrapbooks.
20. Relearn piano. I still can plunk out a tune, but it takes a long time.
21. See the Aurora Borealis
22. Visit the Four Corners. I have a thing about being in two places at once. I might explode here due to sheer excitement.
23. Learn photography
24. See an opera
25. Be happy

This is the longest list I’ve actually managed to come up with.

I think I’m pretty simple in my list of wants. I don’t strive to do anything spectacular with my life, I just want to be content. I mean, sure, it would be awesome if I were the person to discover a disease curing drug or pioneer a new surgical technique, but I’d be happier if I got to run through a field of wild flowers or visit the tulip fields in Holland.

We'll see how many of these I can cross off in the near future.