I am sure many of you have seen the Rob Reiner movie "Bucket List" starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, released in January 2008. I was recently watching this movie again while jogging on the treadmill. Watching this movie made me think about my own bucket list. Do I even have such a list? In case you have not seen the movie, a "bucket list" is a list of things you would like to do before you "kick the bucket."
As a friend and I were discussing our upcoming birthdays, she told me about her plans for her birthday. She told me that her and her husband were going to the San Juan Islands to bike around the islands. She told me this has been one of her "Bucket List" items. I wonder how many of you have a "bucket list"?
If you are recently divorced now might be a good time to create such a list, or re-evaluate your previous list. Why not start with a Summer Bucket List? What are some things you would like to do this summer? Is there something you have always wanted to do, but for one reason or another you were never able to do it? Can you do it this year?
Creating a Summer Bucket List can help you schedule some "fun" into your summer. Sometimes when we don't take the time to plan or put things into our schedules, they never seem to happen. Creating a Summer Bucket List can help you focus on something positive you desire. It can give you something to look forward to after dealing with an unpleasant experience.
If you are a single parent this would be a great thing to do with your children. Get your kids involved with creating a Summer Bucket List for the family.
To help you get started, I have listed ideas below that you may want to consider:
Creating a Summer Bucket List:
- Think about what you really enjoy doing in the summer. Make a list of your favorite things to do during the summer.
- Think about something new and different to do/try. Is there a concert, festival, or activity you have always wanted to attend/do, or a new event or activity you would like to experience?
- Be on the look out for local schedules of events in your area. Do you receive summer event schedules in your local newspaper, or from recreation centers, city guides or vacation guides listing summer activities?
- Check the internet for listings of summer events in and around your town. You may be surprised by all of the activities in your area. You may find free concerts, plays, festivals, farmers markets, to races, sporting events, parades and more.
- Look for day trips and summer activities in other towns. For us, living in Colorado, many of the mountain towns have annual music or art festivals in the summer.
- Network. Talk to friends, co-workers, people you meet, and ask them about their favorite summer events or activities.
- Get out your calendar and see what activities or events you can attend. Be sure to mark them on your calendar with the date, time and location of the activity/event. Maybe clip the information you found on the event on or near the calendar. If you put the event on your calendar then you are more likely to follow through with it.
By thinking about what you enjoy doing or would like to do, helps you get in touch with "who" you are. Maybe you have been catering to your former spouse's interest and activities for years. Possibly you have not thought about or been asked what you would like to do for a long time. It may be exciting to explore and try new events/activities.
Decide to schedule some fun into your summer. You deserve it. As I have found out in my own life, if I do not take the time to plan or write it into my schedule, it often does not happen. Why not look for something to put on your summer schedule right now, while you are on your computer.
