The Bucket List

Since my big announcement, many have asked: “What’s on your bucket list? What big plans do you have? What trips are you going to take?” The simple answer is: there is no list. Amy and I end most days on the couch watching mindless TV, with a big fire in the fireplace, just enjoying each other’s company (after almost 25 years together, she doesn’t seem to have gotten tired of me yet). When the weather allows, the evenings start on the deck, usually with an adult beverage, listening to the waterfall in the pond while feeding the koi, taking a walk through the flowers in the back yard, and soaking in the last rays of sunshine for the day. So, when I think about making a bucket list, it has to be able to beat that.

We have been blessed to be able to travel over most of this country while hiking, riding our Harleys, pulling monster travel trailers, driving a Winnebago, cruising in my King Ranch F350, and even on horseback. We’ve spent a lot of time in the mountains, been through the deserts, napped by roaring waters, floated down slow-moving rivers, cruised Alaska, had margaritas watching the surf break in the Atlantic and Pacific, taken a helicopter into a volcano, swam with manta rays in Hawaii, and have seen much of the beauty this country has to offer. Hope (ID) and Interior (SD) are a couple of the awesome small towns where we’ve laid our heads. Many nights were spent in luxury resorts but that doesn’t mean we haven’t slept in motels where we were too scared to close our eyes (and taking a shower was completely out of the question). We’ve even spent more than one night in a Walmart parking lot. Luckily for me, the camping days are behind us, now choosing to find the best VRBOs with awesome decks, views, and, of course, a hot tub.

While we’ve stored up a truckload of memories over the years, many of which you’ve reminded me of in your messages, we have no intention of slowing down. My parents have been blessed enough to travel all over this wonderful world, so I asked them if they had one place to see again, what would it be? Their answer came quickly – Botswana. They were on safari there many years ago and love to tell stories of the places they stayed, the animals they saw, and the great people that took care of them. I’m still not going to call it a “bucket list” item, but this just may be worth coaxing Amy onto a 17-hour flight.

In the mean time, we’re planning an extended vacation this year to Park City. Why? Well, we’ve driven around Utah, but we’ve never stopped. It checks all the boxes for a great, relaxing, mountain vacation. Pack up the truck, load the bikes in the trailer, throw the dog in the backseat, and we’ll be on our way.

The only part of the country we haven’t spent considerable time is the Northeast. It has all the things we love… mountains, trees, rivers, awesome small towns… but we just haven’t made it there yet. With that being said, I’m open to suggestions of your favorite places. Send me a message if you’ve got any ideas.

So, how does all this tie into me living with Lou Gehrig’s disease? That’s easy. I may have ALS, but ALS does not have me. Thursday was my latest visit to the ALS clinic and I am continuing to baffle doctors with my slow progression. I may not be able to open a gas cap with my left hand, but you still wouldn’t have any idea that I’m impaired if you ran into me on the street.

I’m accepting of what the future may hold, but I refuse to just lay down and let it take me. If I can do it, I will. If I can’t do it, I’ll still try. If the first attempt doesn’t work, I’ll look for alternative methods to get to the desired result. And, no matter what, I’ll always continue to pray about it.

Today I picked an obvious song for The Bucket List post. Tim McGraw‘s “Live Like You Were Dying” tells of a man who learns he has a terminal diagnosis and starts doing the things he’d never dared or had the time to do. I’ve already been doing those things, but my passion for them is growing every day. I am living a very blessed life and would love to encourage all those around me to do the same.

And, to wrap up my thoughts for this week, I’ve chosen Philippians 4:11-13 because this is the way I am living my life now. I am blessed. I am loved. I am cared for. I am choosing to only be a temporary stopping point for those blessings, love and care, before I pass them on to others.

As always, thanks for your time. And God bless.

Coach