While we were on vacation this past summer, my sister mentioned something that was on her "bucket list". Because I rarely watch movies, I had no idea what she was talking about. Turns out, it's a list of all the things you want to do before you kick the bucket. Below is mine.
1. See my children become independent. Before I die, I would like to know that they can function on their own. I suspect every parent hopes for this. Assuming I don't depart this work earlier than I anticipate, I have every reason I'll see this happen.
2. Live in Italy or France for at least six consecutive months. When I first read Frances Mayes' "Under the Tuscan Sun", it struck a really deep chord. I want to rent a villa, drink ridiculous amounts of wine, have a garden, and walk leisurely through the countryside. While at it, I'll have the opportunity to learn another language. This one's going to be hard to fit in, and is going to take a lot of buy-in from Ed.
3. Visit Peru and hike the Inca trails. It's been on my travel list for a long time. When Ed and I got married, we discussed this and going to Alaska for our honeymoon. George Bush had just taken office and I was certain - certain - that Alaska would be absolutely destroyed by his environmental policies, so we had to go there. RIGHT NOW! (See, kids, I am falliable! And I am prone to thinking extreme thoughts! You already know that, but now you have it in writing one more time.) I don't regret the trip to Alaska for a minute, but I do hope that the opportunity to go to Peru hasn't passed me by.
4. Make a perfect strawberry-rhubarb caramel. Damn if I didn't take a class with this being the singular goal and damn if I haven't tried it more than once only to face failure. Complete failure.
5. Run a marathon.
6. Take a barge trip through Germany. I'm hoping to drag my parents with me on this one.
7. Go on a crazy vacation with my mom. Consider yourself warned, Mom. Someday, the two of us will find ourselves where we never expected to be. And it's going to be really fun. Keep repeating that and smile. "REALLY FUN!" I just need my kids to get a little older before I can leave them for a week or so. And having my sister along too would be a bonus, but that means the trip would need to take place on a sandy beach somewhere, and I'm thinking I'd prefer something a little more adventurous - though my mom is reading this and calling my sister right now begging her to be a moderating force so we can go to beach instead of...?
8. Fire a wood-fired kiln. Of course, this will require me to get back in the pottery studio! But there's hopefully lots of time for this.
9. Tend a garden that produces enough produce for a family of two for the entire summer. This might be tied to #2.
Elaine
To help with number 2, I recommend "Italian by Association" which uses memory mnemonics to get you started. We read through it on a long car trip just prior to our Italian vacation and were quite functional when we were there.
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