My bucket list – what is on it and what have I achieved so far?

I never really saw the point of a bucket list

 

a)      a) I was far too young

b)      b) Who plans that far in advance?

c)      c) Who on earth was going to help me traverse these items?

 

 

And then… covid hit. Things that needed money and some leave time previously now required a whole lot more. Vaccines. Negative tests. Countries bounders closed. Indefinitely. Family members became isolated and estranged. Husbands and wives were bound to different continents. Parents had to adjust to living without their children! Suddenly, my dreams of travel seemed very unattainable indeed

 

I fell pregnant at a very young age and my parents, being of a different era, made very sure that I got married. Which lasted a grand total of 3 years. So my twenties and thirties I was a single mom, with very little resources, and no support. Travel was a pipe dream for me. my friends were going overseas. They all had more money, more time, and no obligations. And if they did have children, they had supportive parents or spouses. When I turned 40, and my time suddenly seemed to become partially mine again, I started looking at where exactly I would travel to, if I could.

 

And the list was exhaustive. The wonders of the world, modern, ancient, and natural, were first on my list. These were followed by anything cultural, and encompassed Russia, and extensive European destinations. I started saving. (for the first time in my life). Wanting to do this guilt free, and worry free, and in a responsible manner. Unfortunately, life happened, and I had to build a flat for my father, so my savings said a reluctant farewell and I was left at starting point again. I am now at a point where I have booked tickets for a show in June next year, in Holland, and I am saving towards that and starting to make the arrangements I need to get there.

 

If I had to say what I had already achieved, none of them would have been on my bucket list. It was all things we took so much for granted. Music festivals. Driving through the night for holiday and watching the sun rise. Protest marches. Raising healthy headstrong children, on my own. Being self-sufficient. Being healthy. Surviving 100% of what life has thrown at me. Run a business for 18 years, 3 of those entirely on my own. Being open to love, after being in an abusive marriage. All stuff I would never have seen or imagined in my future.

 

My immediate bucket list items are all things I would have scoffed at a few months ago, but now seem like things I need to do, need to plan and need to savour. They include a holiday with my 8 dogs, learning to snorkel, doing shark cage diving, going to seal island and on a wine tour. It has become about the small things. May I never take one single day for granted