Knocking Things Off the Bucket List

Most of my bucket list items are related to travelling far and wide. I want to visit all 50 states in the United States. I want to go on an African Safari. I want to visit Tahiti, Australia, and Bali. I want to go on a cruise at least once to see what it is all about (more on this later).

Some of my other bucket list items are related to physical activity and endurance. I want to get a Boston Marathon qualifying time. I want to complete a Spartan race. At one point in time completing an Ironman triathlon was on my bucket list, but I have since thought better of that notion.

Another bucket list item has really nothing to do with travel or endurance. It is to complete a polar plunge. For some reason, I have been intrigued by the notion of plunging into icy cold water on a cold wintry morning. And it really is a strange notion for me to have because I am not a huge fan of being cold! In fact, even though I am intrigued by the idea, I could never get myself down to a lake on January 1st to plunge with all of the other polar plungers. My excuses were plenty!

But this year I made the decision to do it. I thought it would be a great way to get over my fear of being cold and proving that I really can put mind over matter. And so on a cold February morning, I plunged! I plunged with a group that was raising money for Special Olympics so not only did I get to knock off an item on my bucket list, I was able to support a wonderful organization.

The organizers had to cut through 24 inches of ice on Friday so that we could plunge on Saturday. It was so cold on Friday night that there was a thin layer of ice on the water on Saturday morning. The fire department guys were there in their survival suits so they took some mesh fencing and skimmed off the layer of ice. After waiting on the shore for an hour in intermittent rain sprinkles, much fanfare and a 10-second countdown, it was time to plunge. My feet were so cold that I didn't initially notice the temperature of the water. However, as I got deeper, my hands over my head got higher as I tried in vain to not freeze all parts of my body.

The strange part about this whole experience? I feel like it was over so fast that I can't really remember if I was totally miserable while doing it. Haha.

Here is a picture of me as I came out of the water after completing the challenge. Apparently, I think making ugly fierce face is the best face to make when conquering a challenge :)

Proud of myself for overcoming my excuses and completing an item on my bucket list!

Oh, and the cruise part that I mentioned earlier...well this winter has been so long and miserable, I have already booked a cruise for Dave and me for next February. Being intentional about knocking things off the bucket has been empowering!