Bucket list

This is one day where I wish I could post photographs from this iPad.  (If you know how to do this, please message me!!)
Today I want to tell you about some of the amazing things I have been fortunate enough to do so far in my life.

This post has been sparked by a chum taking her courage in her hands and arranging to take her two daughters to London on the coach to a live concert of a popular band.
It was on her bucket list.

I joke that I don't have a bucket list, I have a f**k it list, but in truth I do have one.

I lived very simply and under the parapet of life until I was 30.
Then I got the f**k it list and actually started living life a bit.
And some of the things I've done, looking back, were pretty-bloody-amazing.

For example, I wanted to buy a guide dog.
Not give money towards one, or get one because I needed one, no.
I wanted to raise enough money myself to actually buy one.
£5000
And I did.
From organising a formal ball, to playing the piano, sponsored, for 24 hours (yes, really!), to shaking a can in the street, to holding a silent auction, to pestering local businesses, to holding weekly raffles: in just under a year I raised the cash.
And I got a gold (coloured) medal for doing it.
I got to pick the name of the puppy that would be trained, too.


Another thing I wanted to do was go to Romania and do something to help the children stuck in orphanages.
And I did it.
Again, through fundraising and highlighting the cause, holding meetings and school assemblies, mufti days and talks to scout and guide groups; and recruiting four other people to come with me - I traveled to Romania, to Timisoara, to a little town an hour away and spent time and money there delivering love and time and teaching and aid to the people who needed it.


Something else I wanted to do was boost the shoebox appeal one Christmas.
Months before I started populising the cause and the school where I worked ended up sending nearly 300 shoeboxes.  It was fantastic to think of disadvantaged kids in terrible situations receiving a gift thanks to the thoughts of others.


Other things I've done, with me - or us - in mind have been breathtaking:
. a ride in a hot air balloon
. a helicopter trip
. Seeing the pyramids
. Going up the Eiffel Tower


We have lived such a lucky life compared to many - we worked hard to earn our pennies, but we played hard, too.


But I still have several things on my bucket list.

I've seen many sunsets, but I'd like to see a sunrise on the beach.
I've had many beautiful meals, but I'd like to eat a meal on a balcony.
I've danced countless times, but I'd like to dance in the moonlight.


Over to you now: what do you have on your bucket list?
What have you accomplished?  What do you think everyone should try?

FMx