The list (with or without the bucket)

September and January are always good times to sit down and write down some goals.  They just seem like natural times of the year to think beyond the every day.   I often find it really helpful for me to sit down and write a list.  Somewhere on that list I start writing columns: things I must do, the things I need/should to do, and things I want to do.

To start, I try to keep my list pretty achievable.  I start with pretty small goals and work my way up.  I'm a firm believer in having a dream that doesn't get you down.

This fall one of my goals is to start running again.  I kind of got started on that one in June and it worked really well while I was taking the boys up to school, not so much in summer when I'd have to take them with me. 
Another goal is to go to Portland with Dean for an anniversary trip.  It's a big one for us this year and we wanted to celebrate that we've been together and married for a really long time.  So I'm off to try to get my passport renewed.  Yes, it's amazing what can stop a dream.  What can hold a person back.  A line up.  With 2 boys.  A form to fill out.  Signatures of people to get to verify that I am ligit.

When I used to work in a group home for adults with mental and physical disabilities, the staff would do a brainstorming session with and for each person in the home that their family and friends would be invited to attend.  The idea was to draw out their goals and dreams so that we could get closer to achieving those goals with them.  One staff person was the facilitator to get everyone involved, the other staff person was the illustrator and on a large piece of paper would begin to draw out the person's dreams and goals. Starting with the most amazing, near un-achievable goals and dreams on the one side of the paper the facilitator would then bring everyone back to the reality of today and what the daily goals are.  Then in between we would slowly work through the steps needed to be able to make that big dream happen for that person.

I sometimes think about that process, since I was part of several of these dream-storming sessions, and think of my own life.  What would be my big crazy dream, what would it look like? (I haven't thought that big in a while..) Who would be part of the plan?  What would it take to get there?