Never Done List for a mom. I know that sounds like laundry or dishes, right? Ha ha…it’s actually something really great! Years ago, I read about a character in a book that had a list like this. Hers was filled with very simple things like getting a bee sting or having a surprise party thrown for her. I immediately loved the idea and started one for myself. Sure, like most people, I have a “bucket list” which includes traveling to other countries. I want to see Ireland before I “kick the bucket.” But what about our little hopes and dreams, and our zest for the unknown? Are these experiences any less important to a fulfilled life? I think not. And so, I have started to collect experiences like others collect knick-knacks, tucking them away like the pretty rocks and sticks children like to pocket.
I’d like to share a few items from my Never Done List; hopefully my list inspires you to make one for yourself:
Meet someone famous. I have the hope that one day, I will meet someone that I recognize as famous. I don’t want to stalk them at a movie premier or something to that effect. I just want to see them doing normal human things and get to have a normal conversation with them.
See whales in the wild. I think this would be so neat. I wouldn’t put it on my bucket list, because I don’t think it’s quite that big of a deal to me, but it would still bring me joy.
Go ziplining. Through a forest or a rainforest, I don’t really care. I know it’s not that out of the ordinary, but I want to do it sometime.
You get the idea. Nothing is just over the top amazing (like visiting Ireland), but they are all things I’ve never done and I want to do. I have plenty more items on this list and as I think of more, I’m always open to adding to the List.
Now, how about a couple of items that I have crossed off the list:
Learn how to make a great mixed drink. I once had a really amazing drink at a wedding. The bartender called it a Pretty Lady and I loved everything about it. If you try to search this up, you’ll find Pink Lady and Pretty woman, but you won’t find a recipe for a Pretty Lady, so I can only guess that it was his own concoction. I loved it so much that I asked for the recipe and he gave it to me. Fast-forward a few months and I took the ingredients to my sister’s bachelorette party. There I was, the mom of two kids, surrounded by my younger sister’s rather glamorous group of friends, and they asked for something yummy to drink. I grabbed my supplies and whipped up a whole slew of beautiful and delicious cocktails and these girls went ballistic. All of a sudden, I wasn’t the much older, less cool mom; I was just one of the girls getting ready for a night on the town. I will never forget how I felt that night!
Breaking a bone. Hear me out…this was never something that I “wanted” to do, yet my entire life, I wondered what it would be like to experience it. I couldn’t even imagine the amount of pain you’d experience when a bone snapped. Well, I made it to 42 years of age without breaking so much as a toe, and then broke my ankle. And not a tiny fracture; I snapped my fibula and tibia, and you could see it under the skin! I saw an orthopedic surgeon who put a plate and 10 screws in my ankle within 24 hours of the appointment.
I had multiple people tell me how devastating this injury was and how I’d never be the same and yada yada. And they were right, but not in the “Debbie Downer” way. I choose to view this experience as something I’d always pondered about, and now had the answer. (No, it didn’t actually hurt when I broke my bones. It happened too fast and I was so annoyed that I had done it, knowing it would be a lengthy recovery for a PTO mom with kids and a small farm to take care of.) And no, my ankle won’t ever be the same, but seven months later, I am able to do all the things I once did, just with a little extra care and sometimes pain. But what is that at this age anyway? I sleep wrong and stuff hurts, but now I appreciate my body and the healing that it has done. I appreciate the steps I can take and I take a rest when it asks me to. I got a glimpse into the life of someone in a wheelchair and how society is so completely ignorant of all they overcome on a daily basis — things that those around them do to make it through! Parking too close to handicapped parking spots and stores placing items in rows that are almost too small to navigate, to name a couple. I got a glimpse into another life and it has made me more cognizant of what I might be doing to hinder those around me. And that is a blessing.
