Two summers ago, I made a list with my good friend Peter. Merely called “The List,” it was ninety-nine things that we wanted to do that summer. On the list were a range of things, from going to a movie, to walking around downtown, to climbing Badger Mountain at sunrise, to using a telescope to stargaze. That list made for the most interesting and best summer yet.
Last summer, we didn’t make a list. We just couldn’t get ourselves to make a new one.
This summer, that’s going to change. Peter may be gone on a mission trip for another year and a half, but I’ve learned that there are many things I want to do, for me. And they’re not so simple this time.
For example, it’s ridiculous that I drive a forty-year-old car and I don’t know how to do basic repairs on it. It’s also crazy that I’ve never really built anything with a hammer and nails. I don’t know anything about plumbing, and that’s something that breaks in every house at least once. If someone asked me to jump-start their car, I wouldn’t know what end of the cable to attach to what.
Not to mention the places I haven’t been. The local places. Oregon is littered with old ghost towns. The hiking trails an hour away, I’ve heard, are phenomenal. Heck, I’ve never even been to the top of Jump Off Joe. That’s literally a five minute drive from my house to the base of the hill.
I want to do things for myself. I want to learn how to refinish old chairs and tables. To me, that sounds like fun. I want to learn how to play a horn or wind instrument. I own a trumpet, why can’t I play it yet? I want to go somewhere with a nice camera and take a picture of the stars. Like, really take a picture of the stars. Take a picture that makes people say “wow, we live among all of those?”
Part of me says, “why do I have to wait until summer to do this?” and unfortunately, it’s because I’m so busy during the school year. We all have something that we want to do, but tell ourselves we don’t have the time for. And I get that. We’re all busy.
But if there is something you’ve been thinking about doing for a while… Take action, and set out to do it. Take the first steps. Make a list of things you want to do, and document it, like Peter and I did. Not only is it fun, but you feel more accomplished. That summer, we didn’t feel like we just sat around all break. That summer, we set out to do stuff, and we had a blast, even if it was doing something as simple as “spending a day at the library.”
Bourque's Breakfast 