The Kings' Bucket List
- makexpressions
- Apr 30, 2013
- 3 min read
April 30, 2013
Last night my son, E, spontaneously announced at dinner that he was adding "Being a professional player in the NBA." to his bucket list. Did I mention he's 9? (Or that he's 20th percentile in height for kids his age?) I think the shocked look on my face may have confused him. Our conversation went something like this:
"What? Shouldn't I try that, Mom? Not all NBA guys are tall."
I stammered around and said "Uh sure, that's a good addition, but I didn't know you had a bucket list. Do you know what a bucket list is?"
"Of course, duh. It's stuff you do before you die. I have a lot on mine."
"Like, what?" I asked.
"Well... I want to go deep sea fishing. I want to swim in the ocean..." His sister interrupts, "You have swam in the ocean, doofus."
Without a pause, E continues "I stood in the ocean, it was too cold to swim, I want to swim in it. I want to go to Hawaii. Actually I want to visit every state in the US. I want to own a motorcycle. I don't know, lots of stuff." He rattled these off faster than I could even think of ONE thing on my list and I am 41 - one would think I should be able to list a dozen things but 24 hours later I am still at a blank.
"Wow" was all I could muster.
I had no idea my young son had ever thought about life in such a way. He's always been sort of a naive, young, fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants soul. I mean he's 9 for goodness sakes. He's the baby - lives life in the moment, always. "Whatever" and "duh" are his normal retorts. He is a messy blur, constantly on the go, barely pauses even when he's sleeping. He's not a thinker or a planner - he doesn't have aspirations. Does he?
My daughter, L, who's now 12, she definitely has an older soul. She's seen more in life than maybe most adults. She's the one who usually asks in-depth questions, begins philosophical conversations and thinks about and plans every possible scenario to life. She ponders about how life works and what makes the people in it tick. Don't get me wrong, she is still 12 and texts "hey" 19 times to the same person ("hey", "hey2u", "hey back", "ikr" etc...) in the same conversation. Yeah, she's my philosopher.
Not usually E. I was in awe. Like I was looking at my son for the very first time or in a brand new light, at least. I asked him "Did you write your bucket list down? It would be good to write your list down so you can cross off all those things you accomplish."
With a roll of the eyes and a sideways glance, "Mom, you know how I feel about writing." Yeah, that's more like it.
Our conversation migrated to how many states we have already visited (I am holding steady at 35) and I decided right then and there to start a bucket list for the family. I remembered that we have done this before. With post-it notes. We had a family night years ago. We got 4 pads of post it notes, each of us a different color. We wrote things down that we wanted to accomplish, do, see or be a part of. No wrong answers, money was no object. I was clear that it may take a lifetime to achieve these tasks, but we could write down anything that popped into our heads. When the writing frenzy slowed, we posted them all over the kitchen wall and for a week we categorized, added to and re-prioritized them. It was really meant to help us decide how we were going to spend our summer - what trips we wanted to take, what daily activities we could plan, etc. At that point in time, I think E was 5 or 6. His bucket list items turned into more of a Christmas wish list - I want a razor scooter, I want a PSP, I want a puppy, I want a baby brother (not a sister). That's my E - all wanting, no doing. LOL.
I remember typing up that list but I have searched everywhere and darn if I can find it. For the past 12 years, I have kept every tooth, practically every drawing, of course every report card, and 250,000+ photos (most of which are a 12-year-old with her tongue sticking out or smoochy lips) but no bucket list. It would have been fun to cross things off the list, see how our lists have changed and reminisce about what we've seen and done. Guess life got busy and this mom didn't have the foresight to follow her own advice - until now. :) Well in the least, it will be entertaining a year from now trying to decide who added what to this bucket list.
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