Keeping it Real: Bucket List

I had a small health scare last week. All is fine, but in the moment it was scary. It made me really think about my life, about my family and about what I live for.

I have thought over and over again about whether or not to write this post. I recognize that things most people keep private I post all over the world wide web (do they still call it that?), and maybe that's a bad thing. Maybe it's not. How much information is too much information? When is it "oversharing?"  As I write, I haven't yet decided the fate of this post. If you're reading this, then I decided to publish it.

Back to my "health scare". A few weeks ago I noticed a painful spot in my breast. I called my doctor. I went in for an exam, she identified it as a possible cyst, inflamed duct or lymph node, and she ordered an ultrasound and a mammogram to investigate.

Two days later I went in for the mammogram, my first given that I'm only 35. After not just one, but three "rounds" of boob squishing and uncomfortable positioning of my body around that damn machine I started to become a little worried. I then proceeded on to the ultrasound where the radiologist identified the area that I had been feeling and identified another area of concern, both of which she wanted to biopsy. This is when I started to become a lot more worried.

Three days after the initial tests I returned for the two biopsies. It was painful and uncomfortable and nerve wracking. And the worst part was waiting for the results. As I stated in the beginning of this post, "all is fine". The biopsies came back negative, and there is no cause for concern. But boy did they cause a lot of concern during those 7 days.

During those 7 days it was impossible not to think about the "what ifs". What if I have breast cancer. What if I die. What if...what if...what if.

I'm a glass half full kind of gal, so fortunately the "what ifs" didn't flood my mind for too long, but they did get me thinking about living life to its fullest and more specifically about my "Bucket List" and what things I want to experience in my life while I am young and healthy.

Here's the current version of my "Bucket List". I'm sure it will change over time, especially as the Mini Fashionista gets older. (I saw Garth Brooks in concert last year, so that has already been checked off the list)

- See Orca Whales up close in the San Juan Islands
- Take the Mini Fashionista to Sydney, Australia
- Go back to New Zealand
- Visit Machu Picchu
- Go fly fishing in Argentina
- Go hiking in Patagonia
- Spend a week at Rancho La Puerta with my girlfriends
- Visit Glacier National Park
- Drive Highway 1 down the California coast through Big Sur
- Visit the Grand Canyon
- Complete the 170K trek around Mt Blanc
- Visit Denmark, Sweden and Norway

What's on your "Bucket List" and most importantly, what are you doing to make sure you get everything checked off of it?

Oh, and as a reminder...listen to your body, when something doesn't feel right, get it checked out! :) It's better to know it's nothing early on than to find out it's something when it's too late.