What started me off?

As the first quarter of 2017 slips off into the sunset (how the hell did that happen), time to re-visit the lists.  Someone asked me recently what started me off?  The idea of bucket lists, life lists whatever you call them isn't exactly new.  How often do we say, "I'll add it to the list" I just decided that instead of always saying "I'll do that one day" and never getting around to it, I would jot things down and make an effort to make sure one day comes. 

I'm never going to get through everything.  I would need more than just good batteries, lots of money and lots of years.  But hey, dreams and goals are good.  And there is no point having a static list, 'cos new things pop up all the time, ideas change and sometimes it's even a case of what was I thinking?

But where was I?  Oh yes, what made me start. I remember waking up on New Years Day in 2015. We were at Cindy's house having returned after the NYE Sydney fireworks (amazing and a must do, but getting home was a 'mare) at 5am and needing to get up to catch a flight home.  My first thought was holy fuck, I'm gonna be 50 this year. Then on January 11, as I took a little timeout to remember my dear Mama, the thought came to me that she left us way too soon at only 70 and that gave me only 20 more years to do all the things I want to do.  It seems such a short amount of time. I became a bit morbidly obsessed that I would die before I did anything to the extent that in February, I had a full on panic attack.  Anyway, thanks to the miracle of drugs, I eventually started feeling better (no cancer or anything immediately life threatening - I checked) and viola, the list was born!

It started off as 31 things to do in the month I turn 50 (October) and then became 50 things to do in the year I turn 50.  Before long, there were over 100 things on that 2015 list and little sub lists had popped up like mushrooms all over the place.  I jotted stuff down stuff on bits of paper, in notebooks (I have a notebook fetish, but have since discovered I am not alone), anywhere really and then decided to put them all together. 

At first a printed copy of the list, carefully updated each week, lived on the fridge.  I drove Emilio crazy (it doesn't live on the fridge anymore), but I got stuff done!  And it was fun. Thinking of things and coming up with new ideas was just as much fun as doing things off the list.  It was of course after several glasses of red wine with friends that I came up with the "Give the car a Sponge Boob Car Wash".  It came after commenting that the Kitten Car Wash was open again.  Now without going into too much detail, the idea was to have strategically placed sponges (OK, there would need to be a lot of them) strapped to my body, lathering up and washing the car.  Sounds kinky I know, but we didn't go ahead with it.  Which was probably a good thing because our elderly neighbour Arthur would often pop his head over the fence to say hello and I wouldn't have wanted to be responsible for any heart attacks.  This is now off the list.  The Kitten Car Wash business is safe.  Julia's Sponge Boob Car Wash never got off the ground.

 

Anyway, farewelled my forties in fine form, survived turning 50 in India and got through 2015 relatively unscathed.  2016, new year, new list.  Turning 51 was actually much easier (in the much less exotic town of Bendigo). 









The age pressure if now off - at least until the BIG 6-0 approaches and then who knows what will happen.

In the meantime, live for today and have fun.