PHOTO PROMPT © Linda Kreger
My Grandmother’s Bucket List
She sky-dived, and landing she broke her ankles. The family came to help.
She would race across the Sahara; a push but worth a try. Then she’d climb Kilimanjaro; her second option since her doctor suggested the cold on Everest would aggravate her arthritis.
What does he know?
Her colostomy bag will float as she swims the English Channel. A trek along the Great Wall of China, a canoe up the Amazon and visits to the Taj Mahal and Machu Picchu.
Her bucket list was growing.
If only the gang could navigate the way out of the care home carpark.
James McEwan 
Ha! An amusing twist in the tail
LikeLiked by 1 person
So very true. Sometimes we wait too long to do things we want to do. So we have to take those trips in our mind. Loved it, James!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Sharon.
LikeLike
Grandma has it right! Just do it! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful, even if she only visits these places in her imagination! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Perhaps the moral is – don’t leave doing something until it is too late. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, loved this! Great last line.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aspiration lives in the bucket list. Thanks
LikeLike
Hahaha I see this clearly. Well done. Great descriptions.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, what a perfect ending! Well, if Grandma can do it all in her dreams, then that’s better than nothing, right?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Keep adding to her list. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
like they say, to dream is free. she shouldn’t be denied that right.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sad…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great. Missing popular reindeer rides in my country!
Have a good day!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The list grows every day. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I guess it. Here is an example:
Reindeer rides and Santa
Have a nice day!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I visited Helsinki some time ago now. My friends decide we should visit a sauna by a lake – somewhere. We rolled naked in the snow – I was too cold to be embarrassed. Great place – mind you it was dark most of the time. I expect in summer there is almost constant daylight. Have fun.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, sounds great. Mid-summer is great time. To cruise on some of our lakes onboard of old steam ship in mid-summer night is an experience. I am glad that You visited Sauna! We have unique Saunas on wheels! I guess that You heard about them or not seen photos about them.
Here:
Holy smoke – Gathering of mobile Saunas
Saunas on wheels2
Happy weekend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Her dreams keep her alive…
LikeLiked by 1 person
So much so.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear James,
At least she continues to live her life to the fullest. The image of the colostomy bag floating when she swims is a bit disturbing though. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I think the doctor was being realistic and she was determined to show that nothing was going to hold her back. In reality she was going no where.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Imagining things is second best to dong them. Brilliant last line James.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Keith – maybe we should get all our adventures done when we can.
LikeLiked by 1 person
She may be dreaming of things she didn’t get around to, but I bet she did far more than most people when she was able.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Big dreams, but not the best of starts! Maybe Grandma needs a new support team 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That was great. Dreaming is what keeps us going sometimes!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Body may be frail, mind is alive and kicking. She has a vivid imagination.
LikeLike
Many thanks.
LikeLike
Great story – love Grandma’s free spirit, tethered by the annoyances of ageing. The ending is perfect.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love her optimism… to always say you will not live is not a lot of fun
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, I say if you’re going to dream, dream big. Good luck to her and her crew.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Everything has to start somewhere… Little by little, Grandma! You’ll make it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow. You go Mom. This was great, James. My mother had Alzheimer’s. The nursing home she was in had bands on the wrists of the patients and alarm boxes on the doors. My mom found the only exit door in the building that didn’t have an alarm. The staff found her walking around in the parking lot. —- Suzanne
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, there is a kind of defiance that goes with a loss of liberty – mentally and physically, in old age.
LikeLiked by 1 person