In June I got to mark off another item from my bucket list and it’s one I’ve wanted to do for some time now.  Jill and I traveled up to Connecticut to visit Lynne and Jim Burnett at their new home.  As nice as it was to visit with them I have to admit that part of the trip wasn’t on my bucket list.  The four of us made our way from their home to Watkins Glen in New York for a Drivers Education event with the Connecticut Valley Region. Driving on the track at Watkins Glen is one of just a few tracks that have made my list.

I know at least some of you have heard of a bucket list before and may have even seen the movie by the same name, but to the uninitiated I’ll explain the basic idea.  It’s a list of things you want to accomplish or see before you kick the bucket.  I first heard of the concept quite a few years ago while reading an outdoor adventure magazine though they didn’t call it a bucket list. I think it was touted as the List of 100.  The article suggested young people should make a list of 100 things they wanted to see or do during their lifetime. It went on to say that you could do this even if you were at a more mature point in your life, by putting on the list items you have already seen or done and then checking them off.

Since I was at a more mature point in my life when I read the article I took their advice and started out by listing things that I’m sure I would have included when I was much younger.  I then started listing things I would like to see or do before the proverbial bucket was kicked. Not to toot my own horn, but I feel like I’ve seen and done a good bit in my life and have a pretty good list of things I still want to see and do.  Yet making a list of 100 things is easier said than done.  I think I’m at about 80 on my list and I do come up with new things to add every year, but it still is a tough nut to crack.  I try to be realistic with my list, like counting as one item visiting all 50 states and not counting one item for each state visited.

If I had made the list when I was in my twenties it would be interesting to see if I would have the same things on my list now.  I don’t think so.  In fact, the article stated that a person would probably need to refine their list every five years or so, because our goals and ambitions may change as we get older.  For example, I may have wanted to visit Graceland to see Elvis’s grave or ride all the great roller coasters of the world when I was younger, but would probably scratch them off my list today.

Anyway, if you haven’t made your bucket list you may want to give it a shot. It’s fun to get out from time to time checking off items, adding new ones, and reminiscing about some of the great trips, places visited and people met.  Crossing off driving at the Glen didn’t rank up there with taking a sunrise balloon flight across the Serengeti, but it came pretty close!

Enjoy the ride!