Last Tuesday we took the girls caroling. One nearly-almost-14-year-old excitedly confided, “I’ve always wanted to do this.”
“Ah, get to cross something off your bucket list,” I said in a humorous tone.
“Exactly!” she agreed and didn’t appreciate my wit.

photo courtesy the web
Wow. If only all bucket lists were that easy to accomplish. A few years ago when that Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman movie came out bucket lists became in vogue. So, of course, I didn’t make one. I’ve never been good at making goals. Too much pressure. I prefer to make what I call “bite-sized steps.” Mini-goals if you will. Things that I’m sure I’ll accomplish and can cross off my daily list. Because I really like crossing things off my list. It just feels so good.
But after Tuesday night I’ve been thinking about it. Perhaps I do have a list of what I want to achieve before I die. No, I’m not falling in line with a popular fad. This is totally different than the fashionable bucket list, mind you. A bucket list consists of goals to cross off before one dies. My personal list consists of goals I want to cross off before I die. See the difference? There are just a few things I thought I’d share.
One: I want to write the words to a song. Not just any song. A song that gets played ad nauseam on the radio. One that the mass majority relates to and if that majority wants to show their affection with their pocketbook, well, I wouldn’t complain. But I’d settle for a song that speaks to the heart. Maybe one to help the Young Women when they are faced with dark days.
Two: I want to make a million people laugh simultaneously. What? Too much? Okay, I want to be able to cause laughter – in a positive way (in other words, not laughing at me) for an audience. If I were a braver person, I’d admit I want to be a standup comic. But I don’t want to pay my dues with the small venues, flat jokes, and hecklers. I want to skip to the Ellen Degeneres sized shows.
Three: I want to save a life. Not in the physical sense with CPR and first aid. In fact, I’d prefer not to be around someone in medical need. Unless, passing out myself will help someone with a medical issue, I better not be around a medical emergency. But I want to help snatch someone from the dark abyss and help that person find the light. To give hope to a hopeless situation. To rescue a soul.
Yeah, I think those are my current to-do’s on my life’s list. I don’t think I’m asking too much. Do you? What’s on your list?