The phone rang. It wasn’t the normal ring. You know how sometimes you just know it’s different. This was one of those times. My mom radar was up, waaay up.
“Hi mama!”
It was my daughter. She had returned to Vanderbilt University just three days prior, after spending five months studying in Germany. She hadn’t spent much time at home between the two semesters as the European semester goes a bit longer. We only had two weeks together before she was back on an airplane to return to school. It was unusual for her to be calling so soon.
It wasn’t her usual ‘Hi mama.’ Her voice was very different. My mind started racing. In about two seconds of time my mind went from, was she ok? Is she in trouble? Was she afraid? Her voice had a higher pitch than normal. Was that voice one of elation or fear? She’d only left three days ago!? I was fearful something had gone terribly wrong.
“Is everything ok?”
“Yes, everything is fine.” I took a deep breath and exhaled out heavily. I should have sat down.
“Guess what I just did?”
ehh…hmm. My brain was on overload thinking of too many horrible things that parents sometimes do when they let their minds wander. (You do that, too, right?)
“I just jumped out of an airplane!” She said those words with such enthusiasm and an incredible amount of energy I think the lights in the room grew brighter. I told you I should have sat down.
I threw out all the typical questions – as if at that point, they were relevant. Were the people she jumped with qualified? Did they have the proper insurance? What kind of plane was it? She went on to explain that she and three other friends had been planning this adventure. They had done their research and were confident in the company they went flying with – they were former military – and had even breezed the idea past her dad to test his reaction.
“Why did you want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane,” I asked?
“Because it’s on my bucket list.”
“It’s on everyone’s bucket list. We just have the good sense to not get around to doing it.”
It is on my list, too. The truth is, I’m just a big chicken. I’m not sure when or if I’ll get around to the big jump, but something has happened recently that is worthy of jumping up and down – on terra firma.
While my daughter and I share a common bucket listing of parachuting out of an airplane, most of us have a list as unique as we are as individuals.
My list contains things like: climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, be listed in the library of congress, write a newspaper column, and on and on.
My children inspire me. They’ve given me the courage and inspiration to move forward with writing children’s books, and along with my husband Alan, the support to keep putting myself out there.
I’m grateful to @JohnToth, @SharonToth, and @StephanieJohnson of the Brazoria County Bulletin for giving me the opportunity to pen a biweekly column. Now I can put a check next to that last item. I’ll be sharing some of my experiences being new to Texas, and comparing them to living in New Jersey, where I grew up. The column is called Transplanted in Texas.
I’ll be sharing my column here and hope you’ll journey with me. Feel free to leave thoughtful comments, and by all means, share some of the items on your bucket list.
The Beth-Ann Alternative 
Beth Ann, this is a great looking site! – N
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