Want To Do List

I've been in Phoenix, away from home, for about 2 1/2 months now. Being away from home hasn't exactly made me homesick but I have to admit I miss a lot of things especially my wife and children - who are now both young adults. I also miss our pets, the 4 dogs, 4 tortoises, musk turtle, 4 lizards, and two tanks of tropical fish. I miss doing things with the family and miss enjoying hobbies I usually enjoy at home but have not had much time for while on my temporary assignment. I even miss my regular workplace. Well, not so much the place as some of the people in it - they know who they are - for sure. In addition I missed the winter - not that I really miss it what with all the snow shoveling that had to be done this year so that is no great loss. As for the seasons though, I was also out here, actually in Tucson, last spring into the summer and missed the whole spring last year and everything that comes with it in NY. Those things included planting the vegetable garden, seeing the first blooms of spring, the greening of the trees, an early fishing trip, the aromas of early, mid and late spring and so on.

All of those things I have been missing got me to thinking about what exactly I want to do when I get back home. Heck you miss a lot when you have been away from home for over 7 months out of a year and that is what it will be, all combined, by the time I get back so I have lots of catching up to do. Not only did I start thinking about what I want to do as soon as I can when I get back but I expanded it to thinking about what I'd like to do within about the next year or so. With that in mind I will give you my list and mind you it is a realistic wish list. All of these things are within my reach so I am truly hoping to do most of them. You can join in, either in the comments section, or in your own blog, if you want or not as you see fit.


My To Do List For The Next Year:

Have a happy home coming with my family.

Get along better with my wife.

Go out to a nice dinner with my family at least twice a month.

Visit my mom at least biweekly, weekly when I can.

Attend my daughter's graduation and see her receive her Master's Degree.

Start and stick with an exercise program.

Lose about 35 to 40 pounds.

Walk the dogs at least once per day (hmm, does that qualify as exercise).

Visit old friends in the old neighborhood and try my best to visit them once every month.

Buy myself a new rifle.

Start a crested gecko breeding project.

Have a new floor put in in my living room.

Convince my wife we should move out of NY when I retire.

Visit Las Vegas on vacation with my wife.

Attend an NRA Law Enforcement Instructor Development School (where else but in Las Vegas).

Find and buy a retirement home.

Start a 2nd career.

Write a book (at least get it well started within the next year).

Go on a deep sea fishing trip with my son and daughter.

Go camping at least a half dozen times over the summer/fall.

Get to upstate NY and do some backpacking hikes at least biweekly over the summer.

Stock up on survival supplies to be prepared for at least a one month hardship.

Buy a new car.

Visit my aunt and uncle in Florida.

Take my nephew on a camping trip.

Scout out a really excellent deer hunting spot.

Be there to see my son take his first whitetail deer.

Get a new computer.

Get to the shooting range at least monthly.

Talk my daughter into coming to the range with me and Brendan.

Talk my wife into it too.

Have some friends over to dinner.

Shoot my first turkey (hopefully in time for Thanksgiving dinner).

Have family over to dinner more often.

Start baking again.

Cook at least one nice meal weekly.

Plant and tend the vegetable garden.

Reseed my front and back lawn.

Enjoy the fruit from my Mulberry tree.

Get a male Hermann's tortoise for my female.

Search for treasure with my metal detector.

Enjoy a movie with my family at least once a week.

Have surgery to remove a cyst in my neck.

If that goes well, have surgery on my right shoulder to relieve my bursitis and repair the rotator cuff.

Buy a handloading kit and start reloading ammunition.

Visit the Bronx Zoo this spring.

Chop down two dying trees in my backyard.

Take my wife to a Broadway show.

Pig out in Chinatown (in NYC).

Visit St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Visit Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.

Get myself a new camera.

Get my income tax returns done on time.

Retire.

Well, that's it. Not a huge list for a year but enough things to keep me busy mixed in with everything else in life. It is also a manageable list of things that I truly hope to accomplish. Hopefully I'll keep track and let you know how I have done after a year has passed. I am not going to start most of this until I get back home from Phoenix but I had best get working on my income taxes really soon.

All the best,
GB