Like everyone else, there are a few things I hope to do or see "someday". There are gradients and sub-categories within my list. For example, if I ever just happen to find myself in Egypt, I would certainly like to visit the pyramids. Seeing the Great Pyramid with my own eyes would be spectacular but not as important as finding another horse so Ginger will have someone to boss around other than me (and Terrie the farrier).
One burning desire harbored since childhood is entirely possible though unlikely: bring a horse into the house. Ginger may not be the best candidate for this project. It will have to be a horse in the future. Through the miracle of television, I once saw two old cowboys who owned a Cadillac convertible. They opened the back door and their white, full sized horse stepped into the back seat and sat down on his haunches. Then, all three of them went for a ride. I also saw a couple who reinforced the floors of their home so their full sized gelding could come in to eat spaghetti (with tomato sauce) from a plate at the dinner table. My desires are much less flamboyant than horses riding in convertibles or horses eating Italian.
There are a few things that look impossible at this point in my life. My knees probably would not hold up if I tried to ski in the mountains of Colorado. Unless someone invents the skiing equivalent of the "Hoveround", I likely waited too long to check this off the list. But then again, somewhere, sometime I read about a man who owned a coon dog, the best one he ever owned. The dog was too old to run any more, too old to hunt. The man fed the dog a big helping of his moonshine then took the old hound out hunting one glorious last time. I have never tasted moonshine so I could scratch two items off the list at once: moonshine and skiing. I may want to fact check that moonshine story. It might be a hillbilly myth. (Can we still say "hillbilly"?)
At this point in my life, well past the midway point, even if I live to be almost 98 or almost 100 like my dear grandmothers, there are some things I have to accept as impossible this time around. I will never, ever be able to sing like Janis Joplin, but then, neither can anyone else. I also will not be getting high with Hunter S. Thompson - unless he managed to bargain his way into Heaven with a stash. But, hey, that gives me a brilliant idea: weed in my pocket when I take the skiing moonshine trip. There is a high probability that I could kill three birds with one stone, so to speak.
6 comments:
I keep my list really simple:
1. wake up each morning.
So far, so good!
Woo hoo! I took a nap and did it again!
I think it's a habit!
I too have lists. How nice to read about yours. I have lists for different categories too. One of my sublists is for gardening. I have lost the desire to grow bananas since I realized I don't actually like bananas. But I do fantasize about having a fig tree. It's probably possible, even in my snowy climate, but it would entail a lot of annual fuss -- wrapping, tying, bending over -- that I no longer have the energy to do. So I settle for a slightly less possible crop: artichokes.
My travel must-do list has also gotten shorter, since I realized I don't realize enjoy traveling all that much. Partly it's leaving my garden, cats, and now, chickens, in the hands of anyone less dedicated than myself.
Who knows, though, if I suddenly inherited millions from a nonexistent rich relative, or won Publishers' Clearing House Sweepstakes (which I no longer enter), perhaps I would reconsider on the travel.
Personally, I've done the skiing thing. It's fun, but I have also realized I'm not that great with sliding. Control issues and all.
A few years ago I treated myself to my very first ever facial at a local spa. Since that day (a 59th birthday treat) I have had 'get a manicure and pedicure' on my list. So far it's still only on the list.
Jackie, I do love your horse-in-the-house idea. At least you could put a little poop-catcher on said horse. Maybe in my house such a horse could be taught to play the piano?
From your blog to God's ear.
A gardening wizard such as yourself should be able to grow bananas and figs and artichokes and all manner of magical stuff! Our "lists" mature right along with our bodies, don't they? Good thing, too.
If I get a little burro or a pony, or a miniature horse (in addition to a big horse) then I could bring it in the house, even for 5 minutes! It wouldn't be the same as having a horse in the house to sleep by my bed and be there when I woke up (very first item on my list, age 4) but at least I could cross "horse in the house" off the list!
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