This post is sponsored by Readers.com who reached out to me about sponsoring a post on self-improvement. What could be more motivating than a Bucket List? The opinions expressed here are solely my own.
Now that I’m 55 ½ years old I have a few things I want to accomplish in the next few years. No, I’m not getting Botox or going under the knife to try and turn back the hands of time.
As if…
My Bucket List consists of simple goals, ones that come from the heart and are attainable (I hope!) Now that my son is in college and I’m no longer needed to pack lunches or drive him to school, my Second Chapter is more about me.
It’s a time for self-improvement, spreading my wings and facing my fears.
I miss being a part of my son's school days, but now I'm enjoying who he is right now, how he's following his passions at such a young age. I hope he’s enjoying watching me starting to follow mine.
As a boomer my Bucket List has changed from what it was 10, 20 and even 30 years ago. As we age we all change our priorities, discovering our personal truths, then readjusting all we'd like to accomplish in our lifetime.
Here are 5 of my Bucket List items:
Writing a book – Ever since I plopped myself down in the middle of the aisle at a Long Beach Island bookstore to read, “Harriet the Spy” I knew I wanted to write a book. Over the years I’ve put this on the back burner, but I never stopped creating and recreating my book in my mind. The plots, characters and words are always racing inside my head, like a rapid-fire stock ticker moving quickly to grab my attention. If I don’t write a book in the next few years, it will be one of the great disappointments of my life.
There, I said it out loud. Now I have to do it. No Pulitzer Prize will be necessary.
Location, location, location – When I was 10 years old I flew on a plane for the first time (by myself!) to visit dear family friends. The skies seemed friendlier back then. After landing in sunny Florida I was greeted with hugs and my favorite drink: a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Outside, the palm trees and vibrant landscape caused my heart to skip a beat. Like Dorothy landing in Oz, the world was now brightly colored.
Ever since then I’ve dreamed of living where winter rarely visits and flowers never die. We may not get there for a few years, but we’re keeping our eye on the prize on living in a place where we can enjoy the outdoors for more than a few months a year.
Public speaking – This has always been my greatest fear. A shy child, I’ve never been comfortable speaking in front of audiences. Yet I believe my message about living a quality life with our abilities despite any disability is an important one to discuss.
Speaking to care workers at nursing homes was an important first step for me, and now I hope to be spreading my message to larger audiences in the coming years. I’ll continue to carry a box of Tums with me, just in case.
Travel – We love to travel, but for now it's not in our budget. We hope to change that in the near future. In the meantime, we’re focusing on what we can do. This summer we’ve been exploring places in our own backyard, enjoying what nature has to offer during the glorious summer months.
I fell in love with kayaking after an extraordinary venture in Jasper, Alberta in the Canadian Rockies. Now I'm searching for somewhere local to kayak that’s both beautiful and not crowded.
I want to explore new hiking and biking trails, visit lovely gardens, tour historical sites, sign up for walking and eating tours in nearby cities, and enjoy the art and music scenes at museums, galleries and parks.
A future Bucket List will include traveling to parts of Europe, Australia, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada (I’d LOVE to take a glass-domed train through Canada) and the Caribbean. I'll keep you posted!
Retreats, Spas and Friendships – I’ve always wanted to go on a retreat. A writer’s retreat sounds perfect, as do all of the offerings from Elizabeth Lesser’s Omega Institute.
The best retreat of all would be spending time at a luxurious spa with my closest friends. If you asked me the typical question, “If you could name 10 people to sit at your table, who would they be?” instead of saying Eleanor Roosevelt or Joan of Arc, my first answer would be, "My closest friends." We live far away from each other, and rarely get together. Spending quality time for a few days while drinking in the deliciousness of spa life together would be heavenly.
What's on your list?
This is a great list! I really need to think about what should go on my list..
What a fabulous post, Cathy! I love your list and I hope you include me in the spa vacation! Kudos to you for trying new things in this new chapter of your life. Also, Harriet the Spy was one of my favorite books ever. Right up here with Little Women.
I love this list, Cathy! And, I have always wanted to do the glass-domed train ride through Canada, too! My bucket list would include spending time with you!
You've got all the talents and the clarity to make this happen; I have not a doubt in the world you will create all of it!
xoxo, my friend!
Well I'm still knee deep in lunches and homework but I love the idea of looking forward to my second (or third) chapter as the time to really focus on goals that have more to do with me as my family needs me less and less!! Great list!!! I know you will cross them all off!!
It's great to have aspirations and to look forward to what comes next. Which can be some of these things!
This list inspires all of us to get focused on what is really important and to make plans to make it happen. Thank you for the call to action and making us think about our own bucket list
Your list has me reviewing my own, Cathy. Travel, of course, and I've decided I'm living in the perfect place already. I have been taking better care of myself lately including losing weight, getting massages and acupuncture for the very first time. I'm also reconnecting with friends I've missed in the last few years. You and I are almost in the exact same place. My 55th birthday was in January.
I hope all of those come true for you. Maybe your next sponsorship will be of that spa retreat with a few of your closest friends -- I'm already packed! xoxo
I LOVE your bucket list Cathy. May all our dreams come true!
Some of the same things are on my list. My travel list is quite detailed (and have just crossed off a visit to Holland), and I love nothing better than spending some time at the spa with my closest friends sipping some wine and jabbering. And someday...maybe...a book is in my future too. You're right - it's good to write them down so you have something to aim for.
I love your list. See you at a writer's retreat!
Super goals! I look forward to sharing the last one on the list with you... Eventually, right?
Cheers!
A lovely post, Cathy. I love how you look at what you CAN do. I, too, have chronic conditions, and I always have my eyes open for what I CAN do. And I can do a lot, when I make the decision to do it.
Inspiring! A spa vacation with my ten closest friends sounds like Heaven.... although I'm not sure that all of my 10 closest pals would get along. Of course, there's just one way to find out! And if I ever win the lottery, I'm going to go for it. Thanks for some great ideas and some great things to dream about. And good luck with your book!
(On my bucket list -- writing a Sponsored post. I've never done it. Want to give me your Reader.com editor's contact info?)
Love your last item. And I too feel that since of time slipping away. Surely, I'll write a book -- I always thought. Now I'm like, well when are you going to? Time is getting shorter. Best of luck in all your items.
I grew up in Florida going to the beach each weekend. I dream of having a little cottage by the sea. One that I could wake up and walk on the beach each morning. That desire will never go way I guess.
Hi Cathy! If you are looking for a lovely place to retire where the weather is sunny and warm 9 months of the year then you might want to check out my home town of La Quinta, CA.....it's different than the east coast but has plenty of good things about it.
And YES to everything else on your bucket list...I think action starts by putting out the intention so you've already gotten started! ~Kathy
It's interesting that you mentioned spa and travel, since when my daughter took me to our favorite spa she brought up the idea of us traveling together. We called it our European Adventure and it has been wonderful to find all that we have in common after spending this time together.
Oh your bucket list is great! I have many things I've wanted to do in my life but my "list" has never changed and I'm now 52. I've been lucky enough to have many of the experiences I've dreamed of but there is always more to do. All in good time. Good luck to you on yours!
What a great bucket list! Travel would definitely be on mine.
Great list Cathy. Would I be a copy cat if I just said ditto? Need to wait a few years until my son is in college but I like that all.
This is the best "bucket list" I have ever seen...each item is open ended and that is wonderful. I have always feared that my bucket would get empty and then what? Someone pointed out to me that I should never put a lid on it so things can go in as well as out.
Thank you Cathy.
b+
Love this post, Cathy. It also acknowledges how even though some of our goals may be out of reach due to limitations of our aging bodies, we can still find ways to keep our dreams alive. Hope you will add Switzerland to your bucket list.
Great list, Cathy~ I say yes to everything you've written, too!
This is a great list and I do hope you write your book. I also hope for travel to places where winter never comes and vacations with my friends, sounds heavenly and I hope you realize that dream(s) as well.
Great goals. I've been working over the last several years to get over my fear of public speaking. I've made great strides, but need to work on delivery. But the more I do it, the less fear I feel. I look forward to following you as you accomplish your list!
I started making a list when I turned 45, LOL. I love YOUR list-- and that every one of those things is possible-- you just have to put your mind to them. As far as living somewhere warm, I would have been firmly planted in Florida years ago if I didn't have to convince this stubborn man 🙁
NIce list. I love Omega and have been there many times for various workshops.
My first book, a memoir, Looking for a Kiss: Downtown Heartbreak & Healing
will be published by Heliotrope Books next year. I am now 65 and it took me
10 years- many drafts- to nail this book & get a deal. I never gave up.
My bucket list includes taking a yoga workshop it the Caribbean.
Need to save the money and get over my fear of flying.
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