Recently I was over at my sister’s place when I received a Facebook message from a friend.   I told them that I was at my sister’s place.  “What are you doing after that?” they asked.  “Going home to do some domestic chores I guess”, I replied.  “What would you be doing if you could do anything you wanted?” they asked.  You know what, I really had to think!

I’ve become a creature of habit.  Each day runs much the same.  The same routine.  Certain things happen on certain days.  Different tasks to be done at different times of day.  Spontaneity is rare – more a thing from my free, youthful days.  Thinking big is a little scary after many, many years of scrimping and saving to put the kids through good schools and pay off the mortgage and accepting that I could not have things I wanted.

So when asked what would I be doing if I could do anything, I was taken a little off guard.  My first thoughts were kind of small.  “I would like a weekend away in a nice cottage in the mountains.  I’d take my camera of course.” I said.  Then I thought a little bigger.  “I’d like to travel.” 

Since that conversation, I’ve thought more about it.  I’m more than half way through my life so I really should be trying to tick off some kind of bucket list of things I really want to do before I um … kick the bucket!  So what do I want to do?  I love nature, mountains, rainforests, beaches, quaint little cottages and wandering around in all of this taking photographs.  That is true, but can I not think more deeply and widely about what I’d like to do?  I know that I’ve got this thing where I want to go to at least one place each year that I’ve never been before.  In 2015 I went to Tasmania.  In 2016 I went to Vanuatu (here and here) and New Caledonia on my very first cruise.  I’m not sure where I might go this year, but I’d also like to do things I’ve never done before too.  Things that I’d really like to do of course.  So at the time of typing this post, I am going to strain my brain and think deep and wide and come up with 15 things for my bucket list.  You’ll see that I have a fascination for snow.  I’ve seen it only once and that was on a day trip at Thredbo (from Jindabyne) when I was in my early 40’s.  The kids were all much younger then and we went tobogganing and made a snowWOman and snow-angels and had an absolute blast.

Min’s Bucket List – the first 15

1. Stay in a quaint little cottage nestled in a forest surrounded in winter snow
2. Experience a white Christmas
3. Swim with dolphins
4. Flying Fox in the tree tops
5. Travel to the UK and Europe
6. Travel to Canada – must include a train trip around the rocky mountains
7. Travel to some parts of the USA
8. Volunteer in an orangutan orphanage in Borneo
9. African ‘photography’ safari
10. See more of Australia: never been to WA, SA, NT.
11. Indoor Skydive
12. Ride an elephant
13. Ride a horse along a beach
14. Write a book
15. Go glamping

There you go – the first 15 that came to mind.  Stay tuned, this list will need to be added to.

So here’s two questions for you.  I’d love to hear your responses in the comments!

What would you be doing now if you could do anything you wanted?

Do you have a bucket list?

Ciao for now,

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