Bucket List Blogfest Entry

1) Hike the PCT. What is the Pacific Crest Trail you ask? It stretches out over 2,650 miles from the Mexican to the Canadian border. It's a hard fought journey of 20 miles a day. But it's worth it, I hear. The hubster and I plan to do it before we die. Sooner, rather than later. Because you have to be able to WALK to do the trail. Here are journals: PCT journals. Just so you can get an idea of the punishment and the beauty we're in for. You have to take six months off from work.

2) Run a marathon. I hate to run. But I want to do this just to show myself that I can!

3) Pit Bull Rescue. I want my own. I'm in no position now with the non-profit I just started gathering steam, but I figure that's a good goal for my retirement years. Love the breed. I won't own any other. I put together a section for the website here. This is the organization I want to be like - BAD RAP. Donna Reynolds and Tim Racer are my heroes.

4) And speaking of heroes...I want to meet LaDanian Tomlinson before I die. More than meet him. I want to have dinner with him. NOT a date. I want to tell him what a wonderful human being he is, how many lives he has influenced and how honored I was to watch him play. How mad I was that he didn't get a SuperBowl ring in San Diego. Just stuff. He's a cool guy. Great man, running back, husband, father, mentor.

5) Get published. I want to see my book on a shelf.

6) Leave a legacy. I always said, "When my father dies, people will say Man, he made a lot of money. But when I die? People are going to say Man, she really made a difference." I may not know how many lives I have touched - human and animal, but I want to do it anyway. I want to leave this place a little bit better because I was here.
I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.

7) Give my mom at least one grandchild. My mom. Sigh. She was a mom at 22. That meant my grandmother, her mother, was a grandma at 40. I threw a whole monkey wrench in her system, let me tell you. I was career girl. Television production. 60 hour weeks. No time for a marriage or a family. She wanted me to get married, then have kids. By the time I was 25 (and she 47), she was willing to get one any way she could. She became like that gambler in Vegas who starts out sure they're going to win big, but now they're down two grand and are so desperate they just want to break even.

I came home to this on my answering machine one night, "Hi Jen, it's Mom. (Big sigh. - now you see where I get it) I just got my latest People magazine. You know, Rosie O'Donnell just adopted a kid. Rosie's single. They're letting single women adopt. You could do that."
It used to be she wanted biological grandkids. Then she decided she'd take them any way she could them. Besides, our genes aren't THAT great that we need to be passing them on. It didn't help that she worked at the high school I graduated from. In the records office. That means everyone came back to see when they needed transcripts. And I got to hear about it.

"So and so was in today. You know, they have FIVE kids now. FIVE. I'd be happy with ONE."
"So adopt one."
"Noooo. I meant ONE grandchild."
"Have you talked to Drew?" (my younger brother)
"Oh, like that's ever happening!"

Drew gave her a grandson four and a half years ago.

"But I want one from you and Erik," she whines now.

Before Drew had Dillon (well, his wife because obviously my brother didn't birth the boy), my grandfather died and left my mother a sizeable inheritance. She had a family meeting and offered $10,000 to the couple who gave her a grandchild first.
I'm ashamed to admit we did get hung up in the race for a few months. It's not like we didn't want one. But we weren't married yet. C.R.A.Z.Y.

So we waited too long and three years later it's just not going to happen. We'll be adopting because I do so want to be a mother. And she is a wonderful grandmother. She deserves more. Many more.


That's my Bucket List at the moment. Or the parts that I'm oversharing with you in an attempt to make you laugh.

What's on YOUR Bucket List? Pop on over to Liz's blog and hop around to read the others!




P.S. - Abby has finished her first novel! And in celebration, she's having a fantastic giveaway! Hop on over here to enter.

AND

Colene is having a contest that ends on December 2nd HERE.