I was reading a blog the other day (Day Dreaming in Ink) and found a blog post I really liked called The Nectar List. It's kind of the opposite of a Bucket List; in it though they list the things they've done that have been the "nectar" of their existence--the things they did that put the actual living in their life. I really liked that idea, so I thought I'd start my own list. But I don't like the word, nectar, so I'm calling mine the Lived It List instead.
So I'm going to get this rolling with some things I've done in my life that really did put the living in my life--some of them may not seem like much or very important, but that's OK. These things don't need to be life-altering moments or events of profound achievement. The point is that they mean something to YOU, and that they give you something fun to remember as you think about the past, rather than worrying about the future. They could be very sentimental things, funny things, outrageous things--really anything.
So here goes...
- I've had my feet in two different oceans (not at the same time, mind you): the Atlantic and the Pacific.
- I've been to Graceland. 5 times.
- I've seen John Mellencamp in concert, back when he was John Cougar. It Hurt so Good.
- I wrote to Carol Burnett when I was a child, and she replied back and sent me an autographed photo.
- I've lived in Virginia, Alaska, California, Washington, Texas and Ohio.
- I've ridden Seattle fairies.
- I've seen a UFO. No, I'm not kidding.
- I've watched fireworks up over the Washington Monument.
- I've seen the famous ducks at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN.
- I've gotten autographs from Donny and Marie Osmond.
- I've done the Puyallup (fair, that is).
- I've seen a drunk guy pee in an alley on a rainy night in Seattle.
- I skipped school to watch Luke and Laura get married on General Hospital.
- I've been to Tijuana and NOT drank the water.
- I've skinny dipped.
- I've eaten Chinese food in China Town, San Francisco.
- I've ridden a trolley car in San Francisco too.
- I've eaten Japanese food while sitting on the floor at a restaurant in Victoria, B.C.
- I Disco danced in the 70's.
- I've gotten a phone call from Muhammad Ali.
- I've been to Disney Land, Universal Studios, and Knott's Berry Farm in California.
- I've stood in two states at the same time.
- I've ridden in a Dune Buggy.
- I've eaten lobster on a beach in southern California.
- I've been ashed on by Mt. St. Helen's.
- I've heard Styx perform live.
- I was alive before the Internet. Hey, that's something, folks.
- I've had to use a rotary phone...on a party line. Kids today have it too easy!
- I wore Vans before they were cool.
- I've been in the same room as LaToya Jackson. Granted, it was a BIG room--and it was supposed to have been Michael (in 1983). But hey, it's something.
- I've sailed on Lake Michigan at sunset.
- I've been to Fantasy Island. OK, well, to one of the places where they shot some of the scenic stuff--otherwise known as the Los Angeles Arboretum.
- I've caught fireflies in a jar.
- I've been to a Toga Party.
- I've seen the Nutcracker Ballet live.
- I've been to a Trace Adkins concert--and I had no idea at the time who he was.
- I've seen the famous Hollywood sign--from a smog-filled distance.
- I've thrown pots on a potter's wheel. Not great ones, but still.
- I've been swimming with jellyfish. Though not by choice.
- I've broken my arm (as an adult) as the direct result of an uber-realistic nightmare induced by the side effects of medication.