My Inner Eight-Year-Old

Dan and I recently returned from a Mediterranean cruise with the Larsens and the Emerys. It was magical, you guys; amazing sites, perfect weather, delicious European food, and funny, funny friends.

Remember getting the Weekly Reader at school? That was always one of my favorite days -- it was right up there with Tostada Day in the cafeteria. I learned all kinds of cool stuff in the Weekly Reader. When I was in third grade, I read about the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I loved the picture of its many arches. I loved that it leaned. The article said that one day, the tower would fall. I decided right then and there that I needed to see it before it came crumbling down. Fortunately, I recently learned that the ground beneath the tower had been reinforced, so that it would continue to lean for generations of third graders yet to come.

Last Thursday, on our way back to the ship from Florence, our guide detoured us over to Pisa. You'll be happy to know the tower is located around the corner from Ikea, if you're ever in the area.

The adult me took a bunch of pictures:

The eight-year-old me ran up and touched the wall. Then she bought this statue for 2 Euros.

Better Than McCartney

Last summer, the big news around these parts was when Sir Paul came to town. The fabbest of the four, in my book.

Last week, a new hire at my husband's company came to town to shadow him around for a few days. We took her to dinner and drove her around Park City on the eve of Sundance. I asked her if she'd ever been to Utah before, and she said (in her very cool-sounding South African accent) "Once; I came last summer to see McCartney, but then I flew back home the next morning." She then went on for several long minutes, gushing over his performance. At the age of sixty, she has been a life-long fan.

Through the course of the week, she admitted that she had always loved listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as a young girl in South Africa. She said it had always been a dream of hers to see them perform live. Being the great guy my hubby is, he found a way to make it happen. Though she wouldn't be here for their weekly Sunday performance, she would be here for their weekly Thursday night open rehearsal. So between work and family duties, not to mention looking in on his 93-year-old grandmother who recently took a spill, he managed to get Lynn to the tabernacle on Thursday night. He said her face lit up the second they walked in; and when they walked out, she said (in her very cool-sounding South African accent) "That was better than McCartney!"

Maybe it's because I'm a Mormon and the choir is practically in my back yard, but it makes me wonder, is there anything on my bucket list that would make someone else say, "Oh that's easy. What are you doing on Thursday?" Because if you've got any connections to anyone working on the next Star Trek movie, it just so happens that I'm free on Thursday.

A Last Note On Passion

I started off April with a post about passion, so it's only fitting to end on that note.

Today's bucket list item is no small secret. I want to write stories that get published into books. I've gone to plenty of workshops and conferences where they like to tell you that your chances of taking a flight to Neptune are better than getting a book published. They tell you to write because you like to write.

I can do that.

But I really want to be published. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I don't care what the odds are. That's my dream and I'm sticking to it.

It was reinforced yesterday when Rick Walton, an author of more than 50 children's books visited our school. He talked to our students all about writing stories. He began with a book he'd written a while back and he ended with a book that is due out later this year. I can guarantee you that there wasn't a person in the audience who was more mesmerized than yours truly.

So I'll continue to write because I like to write. But also because I want to get published.

Irony?

Today as I stood outside in blizzard-like conditions, putting kindergartners in their cars, I yelled at the sky "I am the president of hating winter!"

With that said, here is today's bucket list item:

I want to go on an Antarctic cruise. I know.

Have you ever heard of Sir Ernest Shackelton? He was a British explorer who wanted to lead an overland expedition across the Antarctic continent. On the way, his ship got frozen in the ice, which was subsequently crushed, and he and 27 other men spent two years surviving. Oh, and World War I had broken out, so they were completely forgotten by everyone in the "civilized" world. No Gortex. No G.P.S. Just their wits and the pure will to survive. After eating nothing but penguins and sea lions for two years, they finally made it to Elephant Island, a lifeless rock off the northern peninsula of the frozen continent. Shackelton then made an important decision. He rested for one night, took four other men, hopped into a 23-foot lifeboat and headed for South America. Without taking anything away from the harrowing ending, I will simply say it involved a hurricane, removing the nails from the lifeboat and hammering them into the bottoms of their shoes, and forming a human chain to make a slippery slide down an icy slope.

Endurance, the name of the ship, is also the name of the book recounting this amazing story of the human will to survive. To endure. It is one of the best books I have ever read. Should you feel so inclined, be sure to pick up the copy that includes the photographs.

Granted, my visit will be on a luxurious and warm cruise ship that includes good food, a soft bed, and yes... Gortex.

Counting Down

I realized today that this will be my 93rd post. Just a few to go until that magical #100. So I thought it would be fun to count down by listing a few bucket list items. We all have them, right? Things we want to do before we, uh, meet our Maker?

Today's Bucket List Item:

I want to be an extra on a Star Trek movie set. I know. I'm a nerd. And proud of it. But how cool would that be? I have been a Star Trek fan since I was a kid (converted by my dad). Sometimes I'll watch a movie and say to myself, See! If people could just get past all the boloney in this world, look at what we could accomplish!

Idealistic? Far Fetched? Absolutely.
Possible? Definitely.

But for now, I'll just dream of smaller aspirations, like being an extra. They could shave my hair off and paint my scalp purple. I'd do it in a heartbeat!