Marriage bucket list

I was listening to a podcast yesterday that focused on seizing the day.  The host posed the question that we each reflect on what we might change or how we might behave if we found out we only had three months to live, a year to live.  Now, we've all talked about this at some point or another; it's not exactly a new topic.  But, for whatever reason, it touched my heart yesterday.

I'm very blessed to pretty much be comfortable with dying today, this week, this year, whenever.  I think the people in my life know how much I love them, and I have no life-changing regrets.  Do I want to kick the bucket anytime soon?  Not in the least.  There are still many things I want to experience in this lifetime before I knock on Heaven's gate.

So, per the advice of yesterday's podcast and so many others, let me make a list of things I'd like to experience in my marriage before God calls me home.  (There are others, but since this blog is about my marriage, I'll stay focused.)

Life experiences I want to have with Mark

• Have children
• Travel (Europe, cruise, Hawaii, Ireland, Scotland, etc.)
• Open a wine bar????  I always say this.  Am I serious?  It would be fun ...
• Visit New York City at Christmastime
• Dive the Great Barrier Reef
• Own a vacation home in Destin and visit very, very regularly
• Go on a few family vacations with extended family
• Minister together in some way.  We are pretty involved in our own ministries but haven't done much ministry together, apart from the Catholic 20-Somethings Ministry, from which we retired a couple years ago.
• Celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary: June 13, 2059 (!)
• Pay off a house mortgage
• Read the entire Bible
• Make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land
• After much life together, serve as an engaged sponsor couple to those preparing for marriage

I'm sure much more will be added down the road, but this will have to start me off!  Wow, what a fun life we have ahead of us. :)

Cancun, Thanksgiving 2009

Planning for Valentine's Day

Sometimes Mark and I have taken turns in planning the various celebrations in our lives: Valentine's Days, anniversaries, date nights.  When I asked him this year what we wanted to do for Valentine's Day, he came up with a new idea for us -- we each take half the day.  Oooh, a whole day of celebrating our love for one another??  Sounds much better than just a few hours at dinner!  We agreed upon him taking the morning and I'm taking the afternoon.  As it turns out, he now has something planned for us until 5 p.m., so I take charge for our evening plans.  I've gone back and forth over what I want to do, but I think I finally settled on the bulk of it.  Details need to be pinned down, but I think it'll be a fabulous evening!  What I'm really excited about is his gift, though ... been planning it for a while!

 

An oldie but a goodie ... my 26th birthday '07

Europe-bound this summer!

For almost two years now, I've been planning to go back to Europe this summer, and I'm excited to report I think it's actually going to come to fruition!  Mark's never been before, and we'd like to go before we are blessed with children, God-willing.  I've been to Europe once before when I went with my best girlfriend to France in June 2005.

Now I want to make sure to visit Italy, and I'd love to go back to France.  In a perfect world, I'd also like to stop through another country (or two!) during this trip as I have no idea when we'll make it back over there.  London?  Spain?  Greece?  I have no desire to visit Germany, truth be told.  I don't think I'd like the food. ;-)

I imagine we'll plan to venture over there in late July / early August, and I'm itching to start planning!

Going to France with my best girlfriend was an experience I'll never forget.  It was amazing being over there with her after we'd grown up together loving French culture and studying the language through high school (and me, through college).  Talk about a girls' trip extraordinaire!

And now I'm so excited to go over there with just my husband!  I imagine it'll have a totally different feel to it, with a touch of romance and even faith devotion as we plan to visit the Vatican and hopefully several other religious sites.

Where to go, where to go??