The Bucket List...

Okay, so maybe this will be my lamest post ever. Then again, maybe it will inspire one of my 3 readers. Either way, I feel like it's an important exercise for me. So here it goes.  It begins with a single question:

What are your dreams?

Okay, okay. So I bet at least a few of you have already decided that this is, in fact, my lamest post ever. Before you close the browser and vow never to read this blog again, allow me to give just a bit of background.

I don't make a secret of the fact that I am not one of those people who goes around reading self-help books. I also don't read many non-fiction books, period. Recently though, I was asked to read a book for a project I'm involved in for work. It's called "Dream Manager" and it's by Matthew Kelly. Yes, you're probably already thinking "Uh....Laaaaaaaaaaame." Yeah, I don't blame you. Before you start judging me, let me just say that I was with you. I read it anyway to be "responsible".

And man...am I glad I did.

At first, I thought this would be a book written for people who are managers. Not so. It's really about being human. And what makes us human? Our ability to envision the possibilities that will bring us joy...the possibilities that motivate us and bring us hope.

Then I realized something. I didn't know the answer to the question above. Sure, when I was younger, I would dream about the life I wanted. I wanted to go away to school, have a boy like me, get good grades, get a job, move to a new city, make new friends, fall in love, get married, have a nice car, buy a nice house...it wasn't anything out the ordinary. It all seemed acheivable. Good news: It was!

So now what? When did I stop dreaming?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had gotten so caught up with the notion of the daily grind...with going to work, getting a paycheck, paying my bills...that I simply didn't have the time or inclination to think beyond that. What's worse is that I didn't even have any idea what my own husband's dreams were. That actually made me feel pretty bad.

So, in an effort to commit to making my dreams come true, I've decided that I should probably have some. You may have noticed that I haven't blogged in quite some time. There are a number of reasons for that. I've thought about it a lot. I guess I figured that I didn't have many positive things to say these days. Truth be told, I've been downright depressed. There are lots of things that could have contributed to me feeling down. Rather than post the million things I could cry about, I figured I could write about the things that get me excited, that bring me joy to envision, that give me hope...

I've given it a lot of thought. I'm still not done thinking. My goal is to write down 100 dreams I'd like to achieve before I turn 40. That seems reasonable. In the meantime, I encourage you to try to answer the question for yourself. Without dreams, what's the point? What are you living for? I also encourage you to ask the people in your life what theirs are. Sounds cheesy as hell, but you might be surprised. If nothing else, it'll probably make that person's day that you care enough to ask.

Just sayin.