My Outrageous Bucket List in Review
At the beginning of the year, some of the peer advisors shared their dreams and aspirations on our individual bucket lists in the hope of keeping each other accountable to fulfilling our goals. So far, so good. The rewarding aspect in sharing these lists has been in knowing that my fellow peers have already begun to tick some things off their list. For me, there is nothing like a deadline that helps me to stretch for a goal and sometimes, I really do feel stretched. So, if I happen to get anything ticked off my bucket list, well, I feel 7 feet tall. So today, I am extremely excited to share how one of my bucket-list goals is now well on its way to being fulfilled!
If you read the post, My Two Bucket Lists, My “outrageous bucket dream #4” was to find a fabulous new home as we had to move out of our present home.
I used the word “fabulous” knowing that my family of three had several non-negotiables when it came to finding another home. Looking back, I am astonished to read, “I’m creating a positive internal view of the type of home I would really like to live in”…because, three months of diligent searching, hopeful house inspections and many hours of googling areas to find the perfect spot, and at the eleventh hour āweāve found our fabulous new home!
My original post said, “..it has to have lots of windows, light and spacious, lovely kitchen, cozy living area and lots of color.” All true!
This house has more large windows to let the sun stream in than I have ever lived in before. Having a light filled home is important to me as my eye condition Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) requires natural sunlight for me to see at my best. Living in Melbourne, even the winter sun will come shining through on some days so you can imagine my grateful heart.
The house is so spacious, when we picked up the keys the other day, I kept getting lost while exploring the many rooms. My son and I laughed when he found me going the wrong way and simply put his hands on my shoulders, spun me around gently, āThere you go,ā and pointed me towards the light again!
We have less than three weeks now to pack up an entire home, including recording studio, garden shed, and woodworking shed. But I have been slowly packing things into boxes since last November while my partner was working so that, our exodus to the new home, is less chaotic. Being visually-impaired, as I wrote in a post last year, I depend on being organized as a matter of survival!
Since we have had this unusual time frame to move things from one house to the other, bit by bit, it has been a wonderful opportunity for me to feel my way around the new home (literally) without any clutter or furniture to bump into. The freedom to wander around to feel every little nook and locate the light switches and power points as well as plan where our furniture will go on proper moving day is a bonus I hadnāt forseen.
My partner even gets a huge space for setting up his recording studio; our son gets the “west wing;” and I have set my sights on making a writing room where I can finally fulfill on another “outrageous bucket-list” goal ā and that is to write my best selling book!
So, the moral to the story is ā when we dare to plan for what can seem an outrageous dream and set our sights on the possible, be prepared to get what you wished for!
Other Peers Share Their Bucket List Updates
Mary Hiland
I’m pleased with my progress on my book. The first draft is done. Iām sending each chapter to each of three friends to proofread. One is a member of my writers group. The second is a dear friend who is a retired teacher. Iām learning a great deal about sentence structure, tense, spelling, and punctuation. Most of the time, I agree with her corrections, but now and then I stick to my guns. The last stop for each chapter is with a friend who has published two books, so he knows a lot about what editors look for, like short paragraphs and a header for each page. Iām enjoying this learning process. Of course before I send a chapter to the first friend, I revise and rearrange and tighten up phrases myself. My goal is to have these preliminary edits done by the end of June, so I can take the next step. Iām not sure if that is to send it to an editor or a publisher. Iām going to try to do without an agent. Iām also going to try not to self publish, but if going directly to a publisher doesnāt work out, I always have plan B. So, to sum it up, I think Iām on track for getting this book done in the second half of this year!
DeAnna Noriega
The news on the aging in place house is that we have a house under contract and plan to close in June. We will take it one step at a time and since there is not rush to move in, we may take several weeks before our new home is up and ready for occupation. It meets all of our qualifications:
- It is in the paratransit district, near a busline.
- It has a fenced yard for the guide dog
- It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
- All of the flooring is tile except the bedrooms and living room.
- The thresholds for two doors are suitable for wheelchairs
- All doors are wide enough to accommodate a walker or wheelchair.
I am back to going to garage sales to finish furnishing and setting up housekeeping. I found a sofa bed that matches my two chairs that was brand new for fifty dollars. It was purchased for a summer cabin but the seller found something he liked better. It still had the plastic bag over the mattress and the tape holding the folded bed in place.
My husbandās lift lounger is a tan and my wingback chair bought yesterday for three dollars is a peachy rust. The sofa picks up both colors very well.
The next thing to look for is bedroom furniture. I will use a folding table and chairs for now in the dining room, but have a nice china hutch to take. Things are falling in to place and I have a lot of time to continue checking for other finds.
Steven Wilson
On May 19th, I graduated from Pima Community College as a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society with the AGEC-A certificate and with an Associate of Liberal Arts degree. I’ve been accepted into the Honors College at the University of Arizona and my declared studies will be for a Bachelors of Science in Special Education and Rehabilitation degree. My goal after obtaining my bachelors degree is to continue my education and getting a Masters degree after that.
I was also elected to be a Student Representative and received a plaque from the Chancellor for speaking and being a member of a diverse student population, striving to lift others up even in the face of adversity.
Share Your Experiences with Others
Please share how you may have fulfilled on a bucket-list item this year or if you have set a new one, weād love to hear from you…