Climb for Hospice

Last night as my dogs ran around like maniacs in the park, a group of us dog owners stood around chatting to pass the time until our dogs eventually got tired and fell over. The subject of my climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro came up, and I got the requisite, “why?!” question. I explained why, and someone else responded with, “why?!” Someone then said that climbing Kili was on my “Bucket List“.

I do have a ‘Life List’, and I can guarantee you that climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is definitely NOT on it. I wrote the list in 2002, and I may not know exactly what’s on it anymore, but I am sure that the word ‘Kilimanjaro’ does not appear anywhere. Actually… what *is* on it now? Let’s find out!  Hmmm… well, it’s about 4 pages long (it’s point form!), so I’ll pare it down a bit.

Wow – I haven’t looked at this for a very long time. There’s a lot of traveling I want to do, apparently! This is really interesting for me because I wrote this list truly thinking that I’d never achieve the things I put on it. They were all just far off dreams. But I can actually say that I’m able to tick some items off this list! I’m going to highlight the things that I’ve actually already done.

Walk a Red Carpet, Own one pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes, Go to LA, Learn to Salsa, Speak fluent Spanish, Conquer Fisher Peak, Own my own home, Own my own car, Make love on every continent (with the same partner!)…

Travel to South America, Smoke a cigar and play poker, Take a tropical vacation, Try snorkeling, Own a set of good knives, Pay off all of my loans, Take Yoga classes on a regular basis, Sleep in a beach hut, Take a vacation touring wineries, Bungee jump, Buy myself one really beautiful piece of jewelry…

Spend one night at The Banff Springs Hotel, Visit Haida Gwaii, Walk Rodeo Drive, Visit The Florida Everglades, Act on-stage again, Go to Disneyland!, Write a novel/collection of short stories/poetry, Experience Romance everyday, Buy a house with a yard, Stay at the W Hotel in the Maldives, Go to Australia…

Go on a Safari, Stay at the Chateau Marmont, Own a BMW, Go to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, Spend time on a Wolf reserve, Make donations to charity every year, Kayak in Ladner, Spend a weekend in Las Vegas, Take the train across Canada, Learn to snowboard, Go to India, Be someone’s muse, Steal someone’s heart, Be kissed every night, Fall in love.

Well. There we go. I think I’ve done pretty well so far! And hey, I’ve got a whole life before me yet.

Hmmmm, I wonder what’s on your “Bucket List”?