THE BUCKET LIST

The Bucket List

We all have one somewhere in our minds or written down on the back of an envelope in a pile of papers.  We always convince ourselves that one day we’d get to it, but I now believe never leave it to someday, because you never know when there will be no more days to check off something on that list.

Unlike the movie The Bucket List with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson most of us don’t have the luck of meeting up with a wealthy person to help us fulfill the items on our personal list. 

When I received my first diagnosis my husband did everything he could working overtime so I could visit my relatives and go back home to one of my childhood haunts of Conroe, Texas.  I’ve been working on a book with the back drop of Conroe and wanted to see if it was how I remembered.  I went with my sisters Leigh and Cindy and read them excerpts from the book as we took a tour of the places certain scenes took place around town. 

It had been over forty years but I went back in time and became that four year old little girl as I waded in the cool waters of the San Jacinto River with my sisters.  It was as though my cancer floated away in the murky waters.

I saw family friends I hadn’t seen since I was a child and stayed in their house that was two doors down from my Houston home.  The neighborhood hadn’t changed much since the 60’s.  While I was there I celebrated my birthday that I thought I’d never see and the Gallo family surprised me with a “Barbie” cake.  I told myself during chemo that if I lived long enough to see my next birthday I wanted a “Barbie” cake, but I never told anyone.  I cried.

I didn’t have a millionaire but I had aunts and uncles who helped me by letting me stay with them or take me around to places I lived at as a child in Tennessee and shared memories.  I will never forget driving with the top down with my Aunt in Cape Cod.  I had cousins that cooked for me, made me laugh and hung out with me at the grave yards (I see dead people, Ha!) and let me stay in their home on the beach.  I want to thank them for helping me have such a wonderful time.  My family and friends are very diverse but they are great.

When my second diagnosis came this past year and the odds looked bleak I said to myself I need to find a way to fulfill a childhood dream of mine to go to the Bahamas and swim with dolphins.  My parents went to the Bahamas in a once in a lifetime trip that I believe they won though a contest. Listening to my mother tell me how wonderful it was I dreamt maybe one day I’d see the beaches of the islands, but felt it would never happen.

My husband went into overdrive when he found this out and also the children and staff that I worked with at the Winner School.  When I had to take my leave of absence due to my chemo treatments the kids had started a wishing well fund.  With their pennies and some help from generous parents and my boss I was able to make that trip. 

When my boss first told me what they were doing and if it’s okay I was hesitant.  My husband and I talked it over and said it was fine but we would only accept a certain amount.  When all was said and done it was way more than I ever expected and had a difficult time excepting the generous funds.  I cried for days in disbelief, I felt unworthy of such a wonderful gift.

With the help of All Points Travel setting everything up, my husband and I had the times of our lives and I was able to cross off two items on my bucket list.  The people of Nassau were wonderful, the place was beautiful and I wanted to take the dolphins’ home.  My eyes welled with tears as I rubbed the belly of a dolphin knowing this dream could not have been fulfilled if it wasn’t for the kids, staff and my husband.  I am truly blessed and realize we are not meant to take this journey through life alone.

I’ve always told people that in some ways it has been a blessing to get cancer.  It’s not a walk in the park but just like in a Tim McGraw’s song the lyrics say “I hope you get the chance to live like you were dyin’.”

Sorry I haven’t posted anything the last two Tuesdays but I’ve been crossing off my bucket list and I challenge you to do the same.  Go out there…cross something off your bucket list today.
 

The last day in the Bahamas:(Say cheese!

We had a blast and it was beautiful! My 47th birthday cake the Gallo's made for me:)

In Conroe, Texas 5 months after my first 6 rounds of chemo and me and my sisters with our feet in the San Jacinto River where we used to swim as kids.

 My feet in the sands of Cape Cod.