One Mom’s (Totally Unrealistic) Summer Bucket List

Summer seems to be the perfect time to get some of those things I’ve been wanting to do knocked off my bucket list. Being that it’s July already, I think I better get moving.
I’m a dreamer, always thinking about how great it would be to do certain things. But I hesitate because I know some are totally unrealistic for me. The idea of adventure is enticing, but the reality is sometimes limiting.

My (Probably Never Gonna Happen) List:

Take a hot-air balloon ride over wine country. (I am so terrified of heights that I can’t even stand next to the railing at the mall. Add wine in the mix, and I’d fall out of the basket for sure!)
Compete on a reality competition television show. (I don’t eat weird things, I won’t do nudity, and I avoid conflict like the plague. I’d get eliminated within five minutes.)
Swim the Great Barrier Reef. (It took me three years to pass beginner’s swimming, and I haven’t taken a lesson since. I’m thinking this isn’t too safe or smart.)
Hike the Grand Canyon, camp at the bottom, and hike out the next day. (I don’t camp, my thighs burn just walking from the basement to the top floor of our house, and hello? The heights thing.)
Convince George Clooney that I am really the one he should be giving up bachelorhood for. (Yeah, ummm, have we seen me? I’m definitely no Amal!)

My (More Realistic, Just Go For It) List:

Go on an African Safari. (Even though the thought of international travel scares me a bit and the thought of being chased and mauled by a lion is a fleeting concern, I’d love to do this. It was my late son Joey’s dream, so I’d do it for him.)
Take a cross country road trip. (My husband would hate this; but we drove everywhere when I was a kid and stayed in cheap motels. If one of my sons wanted to do this one day, I would totally go with him.)
Run a race for childhood cancer. (A 5 or 10k would be totally doable. I just need to be mentally ready first. Why I would be doing it is still hard for me right now.)
Adopt a dog. (It’s inevitable. It would make four little boys—and one big boy—in my house very happy.)
Convince myself to finish Joey’s memoir. (The more I write, the harder it is to remember; so I set it aside for now. But I will finish, even if it takes me ten years.)

Oprah Winfrey once said, “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.”

Have you done any of my bucket list items? What’s on your list?

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