If you have read any of my previous posts on the subject – and why wouldn’t you have!- then you will know that my list does not follow the standard “things to do before you die” process. Instead my list ends at 50, as “before I die” doesn’t have an actual end date and does not help with practical time scheduling.
What this means however, with today being my birthday, is that my list only has 2 years left. Realistically, many of the items will not be completed by then; due to cost and time mainly. That will not stop me working towards them, and causally adding “finish the Kettle List” to my ‘Before my 60th Birthday list’ though.
With the deadline looming, I thought it would be a good idea to relook at the list, to realistically consider the items that have the potential to be completed and to ponder over why we assign ourselves these challenges if we know they may never be completed.
Why is it on your Bucket List?
When I initially wrote my list I divided the tasks, loosely, into 5 general themes. Can find the list I wrote now? Of course not, so I will try and reverse engineer what 2017 Polly was thinking.
The first thing on the list is “Sort Polly Put the Kettle On, as a brand/ business”. This one actually hurts today as the bill I have to pay every three years (tri-annual? or is that 3 times a year?) has come up on the credit card I have been diligently paying off and not using. It was a stark reminder that while I make no money from this blog currently, I have still invested a lot of time ( and money! sob!) into it and that I need to up my game.
That is however a whole post of its own, what I need to remember is what theme this entry came under. Having just gone back over some old notes. I believe the themes are something like:
Things I want to see
Places I want to go
Things I want to learn / I’d like try
Things I want to make or try out
Spiritual/ Health related tasks
With a list of 50 things that averages about 10 per theme.
And how many have I completed in total? 14. Not even half of them.
Though to be fair, many of them involve expensive travel ( I am already allowing myself extra time after being robbed of a few years in 2020 due to the ‘unpleasantness’) and some are tasks that contain many mini tasks.
In the January post I made a list of suggestions for things I would try to do this year. But realistically, how many could I truly complete in the next 2 years?
Do what you can
Some of the tasks are constantly being worked on. I am always getting shots of places of worship for task #36 and if I visit a Coast (#46) or see a cool clock (#47) I will always grab my camera for a picture.
There are also 7 outstanding tasks on the 40×40 – a few of which I hope to complete this year. We are hoping to make great headway into the Counties task with a trip to Whitby, and hopefully a drive down to Cornwall.
Having gone through the kettle list I plan to work on every task that will benefit from me chipping at it. I am getting a few rows a day of my crochet top done, and my stretches are helping with the flexibility task.
But if I am honest with myself, with my budget and with my free time – there are about 10 tasks that I will be able to complete by March 2027.
And that is fine.
It’s not about the tick box
The point of the list wasn’t necessarily to complete it all. While I want to do all of the things on it, the fact that I will have completed nearly half of them will be an achievement.
When I first wrote my Kettle List, many of the tasks on it felt like a distant dreams—a collection of grandiose ideas that seemed almost impossible. Ticking off each task was meant to be the ultimate achievement. However, over the years, I’ve realised that the real treasure wasn’t in the checkmarks, but in the experiences and the growth they brought along the way.
Ten years ago, the idea of traveling to Japan or lounging on a beach in Santa Monica was a mere fantasy. The thought of speaking Japanese with native speakers or earning a red belt in Karate seemed like far-fetched ambitions. Yet, each of these experiences became stepping stones, not just milestones. They taught me to embrace the unknown, to enjoy every moment, and to push my own boundaries. (Tough Mudder I am looking at you!)
The journey has been as much about the people I’ve met and the stories we’ve shared as it has been about the places I’ve visited. I’ve formed friendships with people from different walks of life, each encounter helping me develop a new perspective on where I want my life to go. Trying Takoyaki in Osaka, driving all the way to The Lake District in my own car for a comic festival, not dying when we ran the Tough Mudder (I’m milking that one!) -these moments, these experiences, and the memories I have made doing them are what truly define the journey.
The real magic of a bucket list lies in its ability to challenge you to step out of your comfort zone, to try things you wouldn’t have considered otherwise. Each venture, whether successful or not, has added a layer to my character and taught me invaluable lessons about resilience and pushing through. As I look forward to the remaining two years of my bucket list adventures, I am reminded that while ticking off tasks is gratifying, it is the love for the journey—the process of exploration and self-discovery—that truly matters.
And some final milking…
