The Kentucky Derby takes place the first Saturday in May, and I have yet to attend in person. It’s been on my bucket list for as long as I’ve had a bucket list, but over the years, other things have taken priority. I think now I’ll probably tie the Derby in with a trip to St. Louis and take a trip up in the Gateway Arch. That, too, has been on my list for some time.

When I retired from teaching in 2006, a reporter from the local newspaper interviewed me. When asked about my plans for the future, I said I would go to New England in the fall to watch the leaves change color, something I’d always wanted to see, but I’d always been in the classroom at that time of year.

When pressed for more details, I replied that I was going to get a motorcycle, take my first helicopter ride, write my first novel, go up in a hot air balloon, and do more traveling, particularly to Hawaii and Italy. To date, I have done all but one of these activities, but I keep adding more and more to the list!

I think it’s good to have such goals, and to write them down. Putting them on paper makes them a tangible thing, and just seeing that list on my computer desk wall encourages me to “get ‘er done.” I invite you to do the same, and six years from now, you’ll be amazed at how many you have actually crossed off the list.

I know I am!