My Loaded Bucket

For whatever reason, I woke in the middle of the night and began thinking about what I might put on my bucket list. I thought and I thought, but drew nothing but a blank. My fear of heights prevents me from listing things like sky diving, bungee-jumping and parasailing, and my lack of enthusiasm where foreign countries are concerned prevents me from listing a lot of other things.

Rather than a list of things I haven't done, what formed in my mind was a list of things that I have done. It blew me away.

First and foremost, I am the mother of two great children who (in spite of me) turned out to be really good people. Granted, the things I am mentioning in this paragraph are not really what people put on a list of things they would want to do before they die, but this is MY blog and I'll mention whatever I choose. I have two really cool step-children. It's so nice when your step-kids tell you that they love you and you believe them! There are six awesome grandchildren sprinkled in the mix, too.

As for my life experiences, I have:

• been snow, water and jet-skiing as well as snowmobiling.
• gone whitewater rafting.
• sat on Virginia Beach and ate ice cream with all three of my sisters.
• driven the longest bridge in the world, Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. (24 miles)
• driven the Mackinac Bridge. (one of the worlds longest suspension bridges)
• driven the old Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Florida.
• seen buffalo, bear, moose and elk in the wild.
• chased a bull while riding a horse. (tequila courage)
  
• visited Niagara Falls several times.
• been at Mt. Rushmore twice.
• watched in awe as the Northern Lights danced in the sky.
• been on Mt. Mitchell. (the highest peak in NC.)
• played a bass drum in the worlds longest parade. (Detroit 1976)
  
• looked out over the Badlands in South Dakota.
• watched the sun rise over the Atlantic and watched it set on the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Michigan.
• driven on Daytona Beach.
• seen the Rolling Stones in concert, twice.
• ridden my horse on the highest peak in Virginia.
• looked at actual Revolutionary war bullet holes in the Old North Church.
  
• driven much of the Blueridge Parkway.
• literally had my breath taken away by the beauty of the Rocky Mountains.
• bought a coffee cup on Pikes Peak. (after 33 years...I'm still drinking coffee out of that cup)
• had my picture taken by Plymouth Rock.
• seen Tina Turner in concert. She put on an AWESOME show!
• almost gotten caught peeing on the Appalachian Trail.

The last one is not one of my finer moments, but (in my defense) I didn't even realize that I was on the Appalachian Trail at the time. I sought cover behind a boulder and found what looked like a deer path. Thankfully, the bandanna-wearing dog emerged before the hikers.