My bucket list theory

I find it ironic that just a couple of weeks ago I had a “bucket lists” discussion with a co-worker. I patiently explained my theories to him, but I do not think he agreed with me.  See, I have always thought that bucket lists were silly. First, when it was time for me to die the last thing I would be thinking was “Man, I wished I had gone sky diving”. I would be thinking about my family and friends. Second, when I had passed away, I don’t think I would care about the things I had not done on a stupid list. I would be more concerned about what was going on in the after-life.

Now, I know I was wrong. In today’s society we have the wrong idea about what a bucket list is. Since the name of the list is said to have come from the term “kick the bucket”, we have defined the bucket list as a list of things to do before you kick the bucket. It is about a list of things to do, but it is a list of things to do while you are living.

Bucket lists are not about regrets or dying. They are about living life to the fullest. They are about getting as much out of life as you possibly can. Sure, Heaven will be fantastic someday, but God gave us a wonderful world that is full of beauty, and he wants us to enjoy every bit of it. He instilled preferences, likes, and interests into us humans so that we could choose the parts of this world that we would love the most. He gave us family and friends to share these things with.

That is what a bucket list is for. It is not about the things that you want to do before you die. It is about the things you want to do now to enjoy this wonderful world God has given us. A bucket list should be full of experiences you can share with family and friends. It should include things that make you a better person and help you enjoy the time you have here. It is about leaving this world a better place.

I found a wonderful website, bucketlist.org, where you can post your bucket list, share it with others, and mark items as you complete them. I started my own bucket list and I challenge you to do so, also. As Tim McGraw says we should all “live like you were dying”. If you do not know the lyrics to this song, I highly advise you to read them. It actually has some very good advice. Good night everyone.

How do you tell people you have cancer?

How do you tell family, friends, and co-workers that you have cancer; especially a rare form of cancer? This question has plagued me for the past couple of days.  On Tuesday, an oncologist told me I had carcinoid cancer. It is a rare, slow growing cancer that people can live with for decades and never even know they have it. On the other hand, this is the cancer that killed Steve Jobs, Dave Thomas (the founder of Wendy’s hamburger chain) and countless other people. How do you tell people who you care about and who care about you this type of news?

In this social media world we live in, what is the etiquette for this type of news? Do I tell each person individually, maybe do a post for all of my friends or tweet it to all of my followers? Should I take a picture of the pathology report and pin it to Pinterest? I do not know what to do. I do not want to offend anyone or make anyone upset that they found out by a post on Facebook. On the other hand, it can be tiring to say the words “I have cancer” over and over again.

I am thankful that the type of cancer I have is very different from the traditional cancer everyone is familiar with. As my oncologist stated “Most people die with this cancer not from it.”  It would only be under the most unusual of circumstances that I would need to have chemotherapy. The traditional treatment for Carcinoid Cancer is surgery and medication for symptoms and to slow tumor growth. Unless things go bad, most people would never even know I had cancer. Let’s pray that things do not go bad.

 I will admit I have some major guilty feelings going on. I feel guilty that I am scared about where this could go when my treatment is so easy compared to what other brave souls are facing. To all those who have faced or are facing cancer in your own lives, know that I honor you and your bravery.

Well, now that I have finally spilled my guts for all to read, I will say goodnight. May you all have sweet dreams. Oh, for you Grammar fanatics out there, I wrote this straight from the heart, without a thought for proper punctuation and grammar. Please forgive me for all the mistakes. I will try to do better next time. See ya.