Christie and I had an interesting conversation the other night about the things in life that change a person’s perspective. It’s a somewhat dated monologue but I’m really not afraid to state how exactly backward life is. Anyway, it made me think a little bit about the experiences I would eventually like to have, or be able to provide for someone else (most notably my wife/children). I’m usually not much for lists because my Father told me once that people who make lists tend to stop as soon as they check off the last thing on their list…and that’s simply not a good reason to stop. However, as wise as that sentiment is, and even though that wisdom probably fits this situation better than any other, I feel that a list might be appropriate, but only because I want some type of record of how I felt right now, a record of the things that I thought were important at 27yrs old on the night of August 21st, 2011. I guess this is kind of a bucket list, but I think I’d rather consider it a list of things that are just more important to me personally than waking up every day and going to work so that I can fulfill the obligation I have to the frivolous things I’ve managed to surround myself with. So, here goes…
Things to do:
1) See as much of the world as possible
2) Try to understand the perspective of someone completely different than me
3) Learn a foreign language fluently
4) Watch my wife and child/children discover or rediscover something profound
5) Smoke a cigar with Eric Lewis in a place we never thought we’d see
6) Live, at least for some portion of my life, somewhere outside of my comfort zone
7) Play host with my wife to our children, their children, and our great-grandchildren at a dinner table large enough for all of us some fresh bread, and a whole lot of fried fish
8) Learn how to play the piano, well
9) Teach a young boy how to bait a hook, walk quietly (heel first) through the woods, drive a boat, and to appreciate the things you hear when no one talks
