Friday, April 26, 2013

The Bucket List, or, The Things I Never Regret Edition

I keep hearing the phrase "Bucket List" all around me.  I use it myself - particularly with regard to playing hockey or traveling.  I played at Yost.  I played in Canada.  I've been to Maine.

But what is a "Bucket List" really?   A list of things you want to do before you, ahem, die.  Things that are so important or so cool you have to write them down and check them off.  Priorities. 

If I were to make a list with those rules,  it would go like this (not necessarily in order of importance):

Go to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.
Go to Ireland.
Go to Napa.
Go to Sweden.
Get a degree from the University of Michigan.
Adopt a German Shepherd.


But when you stop and really, really think about it, is  a bucket list more important than a "Things I never regret doing" list.  Like this:

Growing  and cooking as much of my own food as possible.
Spending  time with my family and friends.
Sitting in my chair with my cats.
Going to the Farmers Market on Saturday mornings.
Taking walks or going on a drive with my perennial dining companion.
And, of course, because it is me, moving as much as possible every day until you can't move anymore.

So I am going out to lunch with my parents tomorrow instead of staying home and cleaning my house. Which is part of another type of list - the stuff I "should be doing" list.  Lunch is after, of course, going to the Farmers Market in Ann Arbor.  And after taking a run.  Then I am making dinner, talking a walk with my husband, and watching my favorite hockey team on television.

Sounds like a good day - the kind I won't regret.