Day 277

I spent the day in Cape May yesterday. It’s where we were meant to go last October when I went to the ER and began this journey. It felt like a victory to finally get there with my parents as planned 1 year ago. Chuck and I have been to Cape May a few times this year but this time was special, a completion of a long walked circle.

Over the weekend, a friend posted that she was going to see her first Broadway show and mentioned it was something on her bucket list. Now bucket lists have been big in Blogland this year but I have yet to be able to really sit down and write one because I couldn’t let myself think about dying. I’m 7 days from my one year anniversary and in the midst of yet more follow up tests and I’m starting to unclench and let go. I don’t have any results and I won’t know until the end of the month if there’s been growth or if it’s just residual damage from the cancer, surgery or radiation treatments but I guess I’m feeling a little less terrified today.

I sat down this afternoon and started to write this post in my notebook. What follows is by no means a complete (non bucket kicking) bucket list. It is what came to mind while I sat pondering the things I’d like to and places I’d like to see.

My (non-bucket-kicking) Bucket List (An Incomplete Document)

I don’t aspire to greatness. In fact I think that I would very much dislike being famous.

I don’t aspire to great wealth or want for material things. I’d like enough to pay our bills and maybe eat out on weekends and still have savings. If I only ever bought my products from Target and Walmart I’d be fine with that, I’m not fancy.

Things I’d Like To Do:

1.  I’d like to walk across the Ben Franklin Bridge with my telephoto lens to take pictures of the skyline. We’d talked about doing this last fall before I got sick.

2.  I’d like to taste lobster. I’ve never had it before. (Note: I checked one item off my list before I knew I had a list. I had duck for dinner last Thanksgiving. I had always wanted to try it. It was fantastic.)

3.  I would like to see the Philadelphia Orchestra perform. I’d also like to attend an opera. I’ve never even heard an opera on CD but I’d like to experience the power and emotion of a full production.   I think I’d love it.

4.  If I told you that I want to eat at Le Bec Fin I’d be lying. The idea intrigues me but I’m a fussy, finicky eater who is almost always unwilling to try something new so I’m guessing the experience would be lost on me. But the idea of saying, “I’m going to Le Bec Fin for dinner” tickles me. (it’s a scary place inside my head)

5.  I want to see New England. I want to tour small coastal towns as well as places like Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard and Mystic. I want go to Maine.

6.  If I were really pipe dreaming I would load us all (Cuppy and Snowy included) up in an RV and travel the country. I’d visit all that Roadside America has to offer. While we were out on the road I’d write and photograph three books. The first would feature photos of  license plates from all 50 states and from all sorts of vehicles with personal stories about first cars and first kisses and learning to drive. I’ve found that cars and stories about cars are deeply personal. The second would feature photos of lighthouses. I’d research each one and write it’s history and any personal stories I could dig up. And, finally the third book would be a travelogue featuring each Roadside America attraction we visited.

7.  I’d like to take my father to a stage show. He told me that he’s never been and would like to go. I’m not sure what the right show for him is but I’d very much like to make this happen for him.

8.  I’ve been to the top of the Empire State Building but not the Statue of Liberty. I’d like to visit Lady Liberty.

9.  While I’m in New York I’d like stand in Times Square at night and take photos of the lights.

10.  I want to go back to D.C. and take photos of the monuments in the freshly fallen snow at night.

11.  I really, really want to go to Punxsutawney, PA for Groundhog Day.

So there you have it, my incomplete (non-bucket-kicking) bucket list. Thanks for stopping by every day to read and comment.

I love you all.

Love,

~ Carol Anne