The Bucket List

When I consider things I’d like to do before I “kick the bucket,” it’s hard for me to come up with ideas. There are a few things that I’d like to do, a few places I’d still like to see, a book or two I’d like to write, and I really should try a water slide just once, but in generally I’ve had a great life, full of events and opportunities that most people don’t experience. I’ve traveled, I’ve studied, I’ve met people. I’ve been able to pursue many hobbies and interests, I’ve ridden in a hot air balloon, and dipped my feet into most of the world’s salt water. I’ve been paid to write, I’ve married a great man, and together we’ve raised some pretty awesome children, who are all in college or college bound. We even adopted children, which has been a lifelong dream. I’ve been blessed, and while I didn’t accomplish anything earthshaking like curing diabetes or developing calorie-free chocolate, I hope that I’ve done more good than harm in my life.

But there is an item that tops my short bucket list: to take Lewi and Lily to Disney World. We were able to manage a few family trips there before we added Lily and Lewi to the family, and I would love to take all the kids, in part as a way to tie together the ends of our stretched-out family. But at this point, with three kids in college and less income than we used to have, it’s a distant dream for sure.

A trip to Disney is a luxury, and millions of kids grow up and go on to live productive lives without ever setting foot in the Magic Kingdom. Even in our first-world nation, many parents work hard and are stressed and stretched and still unable to care for their children’s most basic needs. These parents can only dream of a college education for their kids, let alone a family vacation.

This struggle surely would have been reality for Lewi and Lily if their bio father had not made the choice to put them up for adoption. There would have been little food, little education, little hope to break out of poverty. And they probably would have never even heard of Disney World, being focused on survival instead. It’s good to wish for great things for our kids, but it’s good to remember what’s important.

So instead of Disney, I took the kids to Meijer Gardens, which has a fantastic living butterfly exhibit every year. We enjoyed the beautiful butterflies as they flitted about the conservatory, we spent a little time exploring outside in the freezing cold, and we enjoyed a special ballet performance about the birth of a butterfly. I even coaxed them into the art gallery for a few minutes; the sculpture exhibit was too adult for them, but they indulged me by looking it all over and even asking a few questions. On our way home, we stopped and picked up donuts. (Just for the record, I’m NEVER the treat parent; that kind of spoiling is usually reserved for Bill. So when I buy the kids donuts, it’s kind of a big deal.)

I hold out hope for the big dream, but we invest in the everyday. A single trip will never compensate for the small things we do that nurture, inspire, and entertain.  It’s the here-and-now that lays the groundwork for their future.