Recently, I asked people to answer a few questions for me. I’m going to share their answers, give you some commentary and share my answers. You should feel free to answer them yourself if you haven’t already. It’s long, so read at your own pace, glance through, or whatever you would like. It always amazes me what people say when asked about their lives.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO ON A SATURDAY?
Hit the gym
Hang out with my family: Park, Museum, etc. It's all good!
Play Basketball
Have absolutely no schedule or agenda and completely improv my day.
Ride my bike or walk in the park with my two puppies
Taking B to his classes; swim and/or karate. I love watching him learn and grow and have fun doing it.
Sleep in late and chill out.
Relaxing with the kids
Sleep late, hit the gym and do family stuff
Sleep late, stay in my robe till noon and then find a run if it's decent outside. Well, unless there's a hottie in bed with me then the answer changes.
Lunch w/ friends
Absolutely nothing! (2 people)
Assist with wedding shoot
Wake up around 10AM and wonder what I have to do that day. But that's not my favorite part. My favorite part is saying to myself, "Not a damned thing I don't want to."
Lay in bed naked
Read and play on my laptop.
Anything I want! Saturday is awesome because I typically don’t have any obligations or responsibilities to tend to. I actually get to do whatever I feel like doing.
Sleeping in and hanging out with my family
Go for drinks after work
Go out to breakfast with my friends.
Have a real breakfast, not just coffee.
I love spending Saturdays shopping and visiting family.
Get up early and go to dance class. Come home and enjoy some quiet time before "they" wake up.
Have friend over and hang in the hot tub!
9AM water aerobics followed by a warm, sunny day of soccer.
Be with my friends
Play with the kiddos
Take a nap, read, and go out to eat and for drinks.
Do anything other than work, which is what I do every Saturday.
BBQ and hang with the ones I care about.
My favorite thing on Saturday is the ability to choose! It all starts with sleeping in, though.
Walk for more than 10 miles as fast as I can.
Walking my dogs.
Sleep late then walk to a Farmers Market
answer: Not having to get up and take Josh to daycare or go to work. I rarely do anything special on Saturdays, but the ability to just stay home and not HAVE to be anywhere is amazing to me.
I look at your comments, and I see that the vast majority of them involve walking, movement, and energy. This coming Saturday, do me a favor. Imagine what your Saturday would be like if you couldn’t do these things. Don’t take your ability to move for granted. Enjoy every moment, every movement. I know I do.
IF YOU WERE FORCED TO GIVE UP ONE OF THE FOLLOWING SENSES, WHAT WOULD IT BE: SIGHT, HEARING OR TOUCH?
22 would give up hearing. 5 would give up touch. 4 would give up sight.
It would be difficult to live without any of these, but I guess the least suckiest would be hearing.
I couldn't stand losing the sense of touch or sight and I would really miss listening to music but could live without it if I had to.
Hearing, I guess. It would suck to not hear my girl's laugh anymore, but even worse to not see her grow up.
Hearing, definitely. I want to see the people I love, you can watch the world around you (and even TV/Movies) without sound and it barely limits your life. And I couldn't live without being able to FEEL the people I love; hugs, kisses, touches - they all can solve most any problem.
Hearing, because I don't always want to hear what people are saying anyway.
Hearing. I could learn to sign (Spooner, can you teach me?), but I couldn't live without sight or touch.
Hearing...I have way sensitive ears...quiet would be a welcome reprieve.
Hearing. Tough call, but I don't know how I could interact as well without sight and touch.
Hearing, but man, I would miss the sound of my son's laughter and music.
I'd opt for smell, but you didn't offer that option. Probably hearing, I would still hear music in my head. And, how do you masturbate without touch? :)
I don't like this question...but I will go with hearing.
These are shitty options Kim. Between the three I guess I would go with hearing loss but damn the silence would really fuck with me.
Touch- definitely. I can always imagine how something feels- I couldn't imagine my boys' faces or voices as they grow up.
Tough one...I would have to go with touch. I value my sight too much, and can't imagine not hearing my son's voice when he sings to me. I think I could live without the sensation of touch more so than the others. Even though my hearing isn't all that great to begin with, I want to hang onto what I have left of it.
A couple of you wouldn’t answer, and of those people this comment really got me: Couldn't see my babies, couldn't touch my babies, couldn't hear them laugh? I don't like that question. None please.
I’d give up hearing as well, if I could pick. It would mortify me to not be able to hear Josh laugh or tell me he loves me. I would hate not being able to hear the love in Jerry’s voice when he shares something with me.
The sad truth? The majority of patients with MS first go to the doctor with vision issues. I first went to the doctor because of touch issues. People with MS are more likely to lose their sight or their sense of touch than they are their hearing. True, any senses can be affected, but vision and touch seem to be the most common.
For those of you who wouldn’t pick in this hypothetical situation: sometimes in life we don’t get to choose either.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT?
Making people laugh
Raising 3 (Plus1) amazing kids
My daughter
Changing patterns and witnessing my son enjoy his childhood.
Finally figuring out what makes me happy. Only took me 40 years!
Living my life the way I want to. (This encompasses everything from raising my lovely boys to loving the people I want to love to living outside of the lines, despite fear.)
Surviving for 33 years on my own.
Finally getting my career in order
Having 2 kids and raising them half their lives on my own.
Accomplishment, I have a happy and well mannered little girl.
Giving birth without medication
Have 3 healthy, happy kids.
Married 32 years to same man
Raising a caring, responsible child
The propagation of my genetic material.
Fully recovering from a mild form of brain impairment (in my 20's) from a car accident that almost sent me completely through the windshield. In the process, I had to engage other parts of my brain, and I discovered the body's power to overcome adversity and heal itself, if you choose to let it.
Motherhood
Raising mostly normal kids.
Being a good mother…but I’m not finished so I don’t know if that’s actually an accomplishment. Accomplishment sounds past tense. So far, though, it has been the most significant and worthy endeavor I have pursued.
I'm proud of my family/kids, but I like to think I can do something no one else has done or can do.
Besides my son, dealing with my MS and not returning to my very dark place.
Being content with who I am.
My greatest accomplishments will always be my three. They remain a work in progress though. *kinda like me*
Other than being a mom to 2 (occasionally) fabulous kids, I'm still waiting for it.
Finding the real me...the one that ran away scared when I was just a little girl. It took a long time, and a lot of work to bring her back so I could get rid of the facade.
Having a semi-normal life.
Raising two awesome kids by myself and through adversity
my children...having a loving relationship with them, and open enough they are not hesitant to be honest with me....that takes work and grit I tell ya.
My Children, DEFINITELY. They are absolutely the best decisions I have ever made
I think I will have to answer like almost everyone else, and say that it would be my kids.
Starting college with a 2 year old and 4 year old and finishing cum laude.
First Girl to play little league baseball
My two beautiful girls
My kids!!! They may drive me crazy but I wouldn't trade them for anything!
My answer: Throwing aside the whole my kid is great thing, I would have to go with managing to still be here, thinking positively (mostly) and my ability to use humor to make my life a little less stressful.
The rest of you? Bravo! You have all truly done some amazing things. Keep doing them. Love yourself and your ability to do all of these things!
IF YOU SUDDENLY COULDN’T USE YOUR LEGS ANYMORE, WHAT WOULD YOU MISS THE MOST?
Running
Freedom to walk everywhere I have gone
Cycling
Chasing after my kids
Playing basketball
Wrapping them around someone’s waist
Wrapping them around husband
Anything physical. I'm no good, sitting for hours.
Being Tall? Mmmmm, well, there are certain positions in sex that require legs.... and I'd miss walking in the mountains.
Everything
The simple ease of getting to the fridge and back on my own without a lot of drama
Sitting cross legged.
Wrapping them around someone. ;-)
Walking, that tense feeling in your thighs at certain times :)
walking...and maybe a few other extra curricular activities
Walking on my own
Being able to bend a girl over the dining room table and have my way with her.
walking/running/bowchickawowwow
Dude…I would miss rollerblading and hiking and jump roping but mostly I think I would just miss taking it all for granted.
Anything that requires using your legs. I just can't pick 1
I'd miss climbing. I love to climb- even at my age. :)
Running and Salsa dancing.
Grapevine-ham curl-chasse-mambo-pivot.
I love Virginia's answer for this, "mostly I think I would just miss taking it all for granted." I would miss the simplicity of getting from point A to point B by taking just a few steps.
Legs are good for escape when needed. I love them for that. Mine carry me on runs, walks and just sometimes out the front door for a few moments. I'd miss the transportation that often provides more sanity than wheels ever could. Being independent to go wherever I want, when I want
Dancing my drunk ass off.
Being entirely self-sufficient - I can't stand having to rely on other people for things.
I would miss walking...oh and wrapping them around someone (had to steal that one)
Wrapping them around someone.
My answer: Walking and any activity that requires walking. Think about that – you’ve all touched on them up there – going to the fridge, making your family food, going to the park with your kids or your dogs and walking or running. While what you listed is what you'd miss the most, you'd lose the ability to truly do ALL of those listed, and more.
I’m terrified of losing the use of my legs. While I try to stay positive and say “that won’t happen to me” the truth is I don’t know. However, I am stubborn and will not acknowledge the possibility outright.
Do me a favor? At some point in the next week, think about what YOU would miss the most and do it with passion, several times a week. At least.
TOP 5 THINGS ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?
See the pyramids, shop in Paris, do yoga in India, do a safari in Africa and have 6 months worth of personal training by a top Hollywood trainer.
Move to KW, win the lottery, visit Australia, parachute and swim with dolphins.
Travel to see the world, get my kids set for a good college education, deliver thousands of babies, design and build a house the way I want it, be healthy and fit with a pre-baby body to show for it.
Travel, be someone’s love slave, go on African safari, come home to clean house, win a body builder (fitness) tournament!
Visit Ireland, have a lesbian experience (seriously it's on there!), see my kids become productive, responsible members of society, travel the country and meet all my " internet friends" in person, become a psychologist.
Becoming a wedding planner/photographer, walk 50 miles in Wisconsin, travel to New Orleans. Own a beachfront cottage; be financially independent via lottery winnings.
Be debt free and financially independent. Raise and own a Great Dane. Perform an overwhelming kindness for a complete stranger. See my children as responsible self-sufficient adults. Donate an organ.
Take my daughter swimming with dolphins, Ecstasy in Amsterdam with the owner of my favorite toy, Watch my kids grow up to find their happy, successfully ditch corporate America, Find my creative medium.
I don’t know. I want to travel to a few foreign places and I want to find meaning and purpose, and I want to leave something behind, and I want to be able to go out without having any regrets or feeling like I didn’t have time to live. I want to live before I die.
(I'm not stating the obvious family/kids answer, we all want that) Help someone else accomplish a dream. Finally make perfect pasta from scratch. Hook up with an old grade school boyfriend who still gives me butterflies to this day, drive cross country and finally be able to let a few things go.
I don't have a bucket list.
Grow old enough to be a grandmother, swim without fear, backpack across Europe, skydive, and witness a miracle.
See mine grown with lives and children of their own. Find that acreage with a kindly man to sit and rock with me as we watched the corn grow for lack of anything better to do. Touch the lives of those I care for. Sleep more! (Had to add that one.)
Go to Australia. Have a granddaughter. (Gotta buy baby girl clothes for SOMEONE!) Have an honest-to-God library in my home. Teach my kids to live by the Golden Rule. Get all of my children through college and into careers that enable them to help others AND earn a decent living.
Stop being depressed, be able to do things I was good at, move to Delaware permanently, Backpack again in Europe, and learn to trust people again.
Have a meal on Antarctica, do a marathon on 6 other continents, celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary, learn sign language, do something (good) worthy of being on TV or a national newspaper.
Fall in love, Travel with my love, Watch my children become successful adults, have time to cook more/better, Have a 'traveling room' for visitors.
See both of my kids graduate from college, see the ..Great Barrier Reef, visit Pompeii, play with my grandkids, and finally be able to forgive.
Live in Arizona. Reach my health goals. Go snorkeling in Hawaii and see sea turtles and fishies. See my son become a happy grown man. The 5th bucket list item is to do as many things as time and money will allow me to do with my best friend Kim while she can...all the while hoping that she is granted some miracle to be able to continue to do them forever...and if not granted that wish in the future, doing as many things as time and money will allow that will help her find other ways to enjoy life....forever and ever.
Seeing Preston accomplish several goals as an adult, travel around Europe with Joe, drink beers in tiny pubs in Ireland, a Vegas trip with all my girlfriends, own a house with a pool and a few guest rooms, so my nieces, nephews and friends feel as if they're truly on vacation when visiting.
Go to NYC. Go to DC. Visit the Caribbean. Visit Europe. Meet KTPP in person.
Publish my book, skydive, travel around Europe, watch my boys become successful human beings - careers, love, kids, etc., and renew my vows with my hubby.
Go to Hawaii in March to see the whales, go to Egypt and go inside the pyramids, see all the Power Spots in the world in person, backpack and cycle across Europe, take my daughter to all 50 states one summer
Travel to Europe, publish a book, do a pin up photo shoot, play rob zombie cover songs in my band "roxy matress kittens", meet and hang with joaquin phoenix for a weekend.
My shrink asked me this last month and it made me cry. I seriously do not know. I know I want a house on a lake, and that's pretty much it. I just don't know
Drill wells for clean drinking water in Africa; Dive the Great Barrier Reef; Build a Habitat for Humanity House; Raise a lot more money for my charitable causes Enjoy my children and future grandchildren
Go to New Zealand/Australia; white water rafting; meet several people that I know only on my computer; live long enough to see my grandchildren grow up; take the couple classes to get my BS in Health Science
Visit South Africa, Live and work in London, Win the lottery, Be Published, Direct a B'way show. All do-able.
Traveling the country, going on a cruise, watching my children grow into productive adults, meeting my grandchildren, retire comfortably on the beach, change the way the Army treats the soldiers wife and improve what they consider is the standard for the quality of life, help find a cure for Cancer and MS...There is more but that is enough for the moment!
Be a Published Author without having to go the self-publishing route; live in England; see everything there is to see in Europe; Do a safari in Kenya and join a paleontological dig at Olduvai; be a good enough mom that my daughter only needs a few months of therapy when she grows up.
Of course I want live long enough to see my babies' babies. I want to travel the world, get a degree, become financially independent, learn to scuba dive and dive somewhere exotic, and learn a foreign language.
Visit Italy, Denmark & Belgium. See the Statue of Liberty. Be a grandma. Win an award. Write something substantial.
Go sky diving, be on Survivor, Travel across country, go to Australia, and run a marathon.
Go on a cruise, see my girls graduate college, be financially secure enough to enjoy retirement, lose 50 lbs., meet all of my MS friends
My bucket list:
Dance at Josh’s wedding (should he go that route). Do an MS walk in every state. Go to Ireland with Jerry. See the polar bears up in Canada at the big polar bear observatory. Be 100% at peace with who I am, mentally, physically, and health-wise.
I’m wishing for all of you to make your goals. There is no time like the present, so I hope you are working hard on at least one of these things. Life is short. We’re not getting any younger. What are you waiting for? Are you waiting until you're unable to do it so you can say, "I wish I had..."?
The only other thing I want to say is this: Look through these answers. Several people who answered have MS. They are just like you.
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MS Challenge Walk, 2009
Team: LaDorkas
Team Fundraising Goal: $16,500
Current Total: $6190 (38%!!)
Ask me how to donate!
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