Wednesday, November 5, 2008

The Wish List


I came across this book a few years ago while shopping in Barnes & Noble. It's just a really long list of possible things to do in life. I like it because it gives me ideas I might not think of on my own, like:
  • Eating at restaurants I didn't know existed, but would love to try.
  • Visiting cool places I've never heard of.
  • Trying a new hobby or sport, just for the heck of it.
To use the book, I put an X next to everything I'd like to try and I highlight the things I've already done. Some of the things I've already done include:
  • Milk a cow (at my Uncle Marcel's dairy farm in Vermont)
  • Buy my own house
  • Have my "letter to the editor" published
  • Host a Fresh Air child (Eternity has visited us for the past 2 summers)
  • Drive through a dust storm in the desert (a dust devil in Buckeye, Arizona)
  • Drive 1-80 from New York to San Francisco
  • Do the Sunday crossword in ink
  • Ride a helicopter to work (in a medevac helicopter when I was an Army medic - scary...we flew with the doors open!)
  • Paint a portrait (I was an art major...long, long ago)

And, here are some things that are still on my list to try:

  • Visit the Eiffel Tower
  • Write a best seller
  • Pay it forward
  • Take up fencing
  • Have 20/20 vision
  • Calculate with an abacus
  • Float down the Amazon
  • Walk across the Golden Gate bridge (we visited San Francisco earlier this year, but just didn't have time to fit this one in!)
  • Learn to kayak
  • Make my own pickles (I've made jam and chutney, but no pickles yet)
My copy is rather battered, as I've read and re-read The Wish List so many times. It always goes with me on vacation and whenever I travel - it's great airplane reading. I like to remind myself of all the wonderful adventures waiting to be experienced. It's so easy to forget these things while dealing with all the details of day-to-day life.
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2 comments:

Blair said...

That book sounds amazing! And making pickles is right up my alley. I love pickles. One of the big things on my "wish list" is to ride in a hot air balloon. I think they're so incredible!

Sounds like you've already done some amazing things! I hope you get to do everything on your list!

KathyA said...

I just finished reading a book called 20 WISHES, by Debbie Macomber. It's a really easy read -- your wish list put me in mind of it.
Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog about the election. It was a very emotional day for me as well. All I kept thinking about was, "We're making history."

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