It’s one thing to dream about and discuss our bucket lists. But we hit a whole new level of life experience when we take action, any action. Which is why I am introducing a new monthly feature here on my blog: the Bucket List Life Dare.
This week my family celebrates two transitions: my middle daughter Katherine graduated from 8th grade and is now a high schooler, while my youngest daughter Evelyn officially finished elementary school. If there is one phrase I have heard more than any other in the past two days it’s “time sure does fly.” And indeed it felt that way Monday during the junior high Moving On ceremony as I sat near the mom of one of Katherine’s preschool classmates and we reminisced about our girls as four-year-olds.
It made me realize that life will never slow down for us to do the things we want to do. If nothing else, the pace of life where I live in American suburbia is accelerating. I have learned I can’t wait for the moment to be just right to live out my bucket list dreams. And I have learned I don’t have to know the whole path toward realizing them. I simply need to find, and take, the first step.
The Bucket List Life Dare is about first steps. Or next steps, depending on where you are in your chosen bucket list journey. At the beginning of each month I will issue an invitation to a simple challenge. To join in, follow the instructions for that month’s challenge and chime in below in the comments about what you did.
It is my hope when next June arrives we aren’t blown away so much by the passage of time, but by how much happened in the span of a single year. Are you in?
Here is the first Bucket List Life Dare: Be a tourist in your own region. Tell us one thing your city, state or region is known for that you have never experienced. It could be a food you’ve never tried, a place you’ve never visited, a festival you’ve never attended or some other regional specialty or attraction. Then, if possible, plan a time to do/see/eat it this month.
To complete the dare, tell us in the comments your local live-like-a-tourist goal (and when you plan to check it off). Or Tweet out your response using the hashtag #BucketListLifeDare. Once you fulfill the month’s dare, come back and tell us what it was like. If you blog about your experience, I’d love to have you share a link in the comments.
My #BucketListLifeDare for this month: take my family to Eataly, the Italian Food Marketplace in Chicago. It is on my bucket list already and this month I want to check it off. Stay tuned to hear how that turns out for us.
