The Bucket List

When did you first encounter the idea of a bucket list? And how did that idea strike you? My reaction was, shall we say, mixed? Though I wasn't sure how I felt about buckets...and kicking them, I liked the idea of listing what I wanted to see, do, and accomplish in my allotted years. Today I'm sharing a few of the stranger items I "bucketed" way back when.

1. Live on a horse ranch. This one seemed unlikely for a whole bouquet of reasons, but I achieved it in an unusual way. Years ago, we bought a home on the outskirts of town. It came with acreage and a stable with stalls and attached paddocks. Though we didn't own horse, we stabled them for others. One day as I was feeding, brushing, walking, and generally playing with "our" animals, I realized I was there, on my imagined horse ranch. Check off item #1.

2. Pet a live tiger. Okay, so I was a weird kid, but aren't tigers beautiful creatures? And their coats look so soft and warm! When my husband learned that the tigress at a nearby preserve had twins, he took me for a visit. The tiger I stroked was about two months old, beautiful, soft, and warm.

3. Visit every state and all the continents. This was a flight of fancy. Ordinary people didn't travel! Times have changed, and I can happily report that I've visited 45 of the 50 states and set foot on every continent except Antartica. One of our sons couldn't believe Hawaii is among the states we haven't seen. He said, "You've been to Egypt? And you haven't seen Hawaii?" Um, yeah. We now have our airplane tickets and within a few weeks, we'll check this one off the list. Then I'll just have the top three states in New England and, oh yeah, North Dakota. (I'm told that one's last for most folks.)

4. Watch a glacier calve. A cruise is a great way to achieve this and my husband took me cruising a few years ago. The sight was every bit as spectacular as I had imagined. What I hadn't imagined is a moving glacier's sound. Amazing! 

I still haven't seen the northern (or southern) lights, and I have other goals still waiting, but I can report that the Southern Cross looks the same from both Melbourne, Australia and Viacha, Bolivia. I've fed a Tasmanian devil joey, hiked in the Amazonian rainforest, flown in a helicopter, and held a koala in my arms. All in all, I've had surprising success with my goals and with a variety of rich experiences.

I'm sure my list is different from yours. We all get to create our own, and we all get to alter or add to them as we go. I'm thrilled at the items I've been able to cross off, and I look forward to checking off a few more. Each adds to the awe I feel at the amazing, wonderful world we share.

Susan Aylworth is the author of more than 20 novels. Over the Rainbow, a prequel to the Rainbow Rock Romances, is available free to everyone who subscribes to her newsletter on her website: susanaylworthauthor.com. Contact her on her Facebook author page or via susan.aylworth.author@gmail.com or join her on Twitter @Susan Aylworth.