Living To Do

Remember in that sappy (yet so cute) movie, PS I Love You, when Hilary Swank tells Gerard Butler that you should make anything—a taco, a sock, whatever—as long as it’s something you made on your own, to just put yourself out there? She was absolutely right.

Making something—actually creating a thing in the world—is one of the most exhilarating experiences on Earth. Some of my most powerful experiences have come from paintings, drawings, or poems that I’ve created. Of course, most parents will say that making children was the most incredible thing they’ve ever done, as well.

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Over our mini staycation (it’s funny how I’ve adapted to use that word; if you use vacation, everybody expects for you to tell them “where you’re going” these days, and then you just mumble, “Around…”), my husband and I were really looking forward to getting a little extra sleep in. We both work at night—me from home, him in the city—in order to have family time during the day and to prevent our daughter from being in daycare. In my case, I actually enjoy working at night, too; in his, it’s just the shift that was available.

So there we were, snuggled and sleeping next to one another—something that rarely occurs these days, unfortunately—when we were suddenly awakened by loud, obnoxious drilling and hammering at 6:30 in the morning.

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This sounds like a weird suggestion, doesn’t it? But to really add some fun to your Living to Do list, you need some modifiers! By modifiers, I mean specific adjectives or verbs that truly spice up your listed items—and only modifiers that you really want, of course.

You might have “Go snorkeling” on your list. But where do you want to snorkel? Who do you want to snorkel with? Is there a specific color of snorkeling gear you prefer? Get as specific and outrageous as you like. For example, on my Living to Do list, I don’t have down that I want to try wine in Europe; I have “Drink Champagne in Champagne,” as well as Bordeaux in Bordeaux, of course! I don’t have “Learn to make chalk,” but specifically, “Learn to make stick chalk with my sister.”

Just take a look at your list overall and think about these questions:

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Beer Run"Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all."- Helen Keller

I had this bumper sticker in my room when I was younger and couldn't imagine how I would make it true for myself. I felt stuck and scared to try new things; since then, I've tried quite a few things that were on my own personal "Bucket List", but there are quite a few items still on the list. 

I believe that not every goal has to be large- sometimes having smaller goals is ok, too- here's a list of things that I haven't done that I hope to do someday. What would you like to do that you haven't done?

1. I want to attend an NBA basketball game. I am not picky- it doesn't have to be a playoff game, but it should be a team I like playing against the LA Lakers and kicking their asses. Unlike Jack Nicholson and company, I hate the Lakers and Kobe Bryant in particular.

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