As the year ends, everyone looks back on what they accomplished, what was left undone and what was lost. Many also check out their bucket list and with any luck, scratch off or add something new…praying of course there will be time to accomplish it. Thankfully, age and hindsight allow us to value what life has let us to do, even if we are the only ones who ever know it…because until a tea and crumpet laced eulogy, between sighs and tears no one ever fully knows what we carried in our bucket.

Keeping that thought, I have decided Gunga Din can sit on the bench with the other boys from this point on, because I no longer need a bucket…instead, I have compiled my Faucet List, one that will continue to remind me of the events running through me as I live my life, adding more as I go on. I want those around me to know why I am who I am, and what changed many a direction for me.

Looking at a running faucet of events filling my eventual bucket, my glass will be also always be full and not half empty, waiting for the day I do need a bucket to kick! Why worry about the last days of life and what needs to be done? Mark the moments that complete each new day and make a difference, while preparing for another!

Let’s face it, we are all going to die at some point – no one gets out of life alive…sorry if that is news to your ego or the friends of Ted Williams. So, since we are destined for a long dirt nap, why not take into consideration all the warmth, love and accomplishment that blanketed us in this life? For me, that took no thought…along I might add, to a few accomplishments that didn’t exactly turn out as planned.

The best part of a Faucet List is leaving behind the fact that you knew who you were in life, and remember…it is always better to get it from the horse’s mouth! Heck…you might find out you really do have a Wonderful Life, and there is still time to make it even better.

A Testament to Me…thus far

Watched tide pools fill and picked up starfish
Walked through the halls of our nation’s government and security and paid tribute to the fallen soldiers.
Savored fresh cut Hawaiian pineapple in the field, smelling volcanic air all around me
Walked in the ocean on both coasts and in Hawaii
Stood near blue glass ice glaciers in Alaska
Called 911 twice
Was silent at two Holocaust memorials, praying for us all
Flew in planes and helicopters, traveled in trains, on bikes, bus, boats and cruise ship
Saw the Crown Jewels of England
Never learned how to swim
Touched the Southernmost tip of the United States and witnessed the beauty of Canada
Experienced two blizzards
A part of two Super Bowl games and attended one World Series Game
Watched fireflies and listened to cicadas in the dark
Saw animals born and held several as they took their last breath
Looked into my father’s eyes as he said his last goodbye, knowing how much we loved each other
Survived a head trauma as a child that left me with seizures and by age 12 all scar tissue disappeared and I was fine.
Felt life as I gave birth four times and felt the heartbreak of death once
Watched the sun rise in Spain and experienced a different culture
Survived a horrible car accident
Listened to my child in her darkest and happiest moment because she wanted me there
Experienced life through the eyes of a child, a grandchild and an aging parent
Sat in a press briefing with first lady Rosalynn Carter, listening how she made life work in the public eye
Helped bring a grandson into the world
Worked in a food bank and confirmed how insignificant and alike we are in this life
Landed a dream job only to see it go away
Wrote three novels
Relaxed in the tour bus with a heavy metal band
Delivered a sermon at church
Mastered the computer with no instruction having been abysmal at math
Ate C-Rations in the 70’s and was thankful for the soldiers overseas protecting us
Cleared a dance floor with a partner as others watched and clapped
Baked incredible cinnamon rolls and biscuits sharing them often
Sat next to the Grand Wizard of the KKK and the daughter of a Satanist as they were interviewed, saddened by the darkness they shared
Walked on a gravel country road where the only interruption was little pigs making noise at their metal feeder
Was a part of a talk show when Rap music began
Stood by the stage as Jimmy Durante played piano and received a kiss on the hand by Emmett Kelly
Won a crown and wore it like a Princess
Was there for a dear friend in a time of pain and need and received the same love back
Lived in a time when locking doors was optional and trust was the norm
Felt discrimination for being unattractive, too attractive and old…the pain is the same
Had ideas stolen but still saw dreams come true
Sat in silence for hours at a lakes edge waiting for fish to bite
Won on lottery tickets
Enjoyed a Broadway show in New York three rows from the stage
Produced a radio broadcast
Hit a slot machine Jackpot in Vegas
Saved $400 in coupons at the grocery store and thrilled my kids
Was in a couple magazine stories
Was a columnist at 14 and years later also wrote for a newspaper
Traveled First Class
Had a store open just for me
Got re-married by an Elvis Impersonator
Had a child tell me I was her best friend
Stood in front of store windows in New York during Christmas
Watched the filming of a television show
Followed an ambulance to the hospital in fear and dread
Survived a mosh pit
Put on a convention
Helped raise $16,000 for Make a Wish
Caught my hair on fire in front of an audience
Attended several Hollywood parties in sequin dresses and style
Delighted in giving because it is better than receiving
Taught children in church
Had a squirrel sit next to me as she ate
Experienced a blind date, a friend date and an online date
Watched a waiter pull the tablecloth away leaving everything in place
Was interviewed on television and radio
Ate snails
Watched an IV in my arm as my kidneys started to fail from E.Coli poisoning
Won contests
Treated by a country doctor who boiled his instruments in a can on a stove in the mountains
Ran a mimeograph machine, Dictaphone and telex machine
Lived to see my daughter reach her goals
Performed on a stage
Watched a child screaming in delight soaked during their first rain
Sold candy door to door
Raised sea horses
Listened to my life told through the eyes of a child and a doll, realizing I needed to make changes
Experienced music on the AM/FM radio, 78’s, albums, 45’s, cassettes, 8 tracks, CD’s and MP3 files
Not once but twice – offered the CEO of a company his competitor’s product in embarrassment
Fought for something I believed in
Been loved and betrayed by a best friend
Put my hands onto the cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theater and dreamed
Competed in a beauty pageant
Climbed Mt. Yale
Walked the Freedom Trail
Saved a goldfish using a cocktail straw for mouth to mouth resuscitation
Drank water from a waterfall and iron water pump in the woods
Typed messages using carbon paper, liquid paper, second sheets and electronic email
Learned Mr. Right is usually Wrong
Held 16 roses on my birthday from a father who never bought roses
Learned not to question life after a lost hamster turned up a year later on Easter in a basket.
Toasted marshmallows over a crackling fire in the mountains
Listened to rain as it hit a canvass awning and a tin trailer roof
Learned what happens when a lobster shell falls behind a dresser for a month
Photographed moments for others that were once in a lifetime
Enjoyed drive-in movies and pickles in a cup
Walked away from a sewing machine with pride at what I had made

Started my life over more than once