Shannon R. Brown

Recently I had to reschedule a hiking trip a friend and I were planning due to inclement weather. As much as I’m looking forward to finally conquering Enchanted Rock, the thought of doing it in the mud when the trail is super slick seems imprudent and I think my orthopedic surgeon would agree. In the course of texting about the situation, my friend indicated that this trip was “Pail List” stuff. I inquired as to the meaning of the phrase and she explained that it’s the things you’d really like to do, but not enough to actually put on your Bucket List. Obviously, I was intrigued and I’m now compiling my own Pail List. Join me?

Working on figuring out what belongs on my Pail List has proven to be more difficult than I thought. I mean, there are so many things to do in the world that we can’t do them all before we leave this earthly plane. It can’t be that hard to overfill this pail, right? Turns out it is. Although, that could just be a me problem (I have a lot of those) and you’ll have no trouble creating your list.

I have a rather lengthy Bucket List, mostly composed of cool, mountainous places to visit, ancient cities to explore and trails to conquer. I even have a “Not In This Lifetime List.” That one may have been even easier to fill than my Bucket List. Additionally, I have a “Nope List.” Top of that list – snakes. I dislike snakes so much that I even avoid the reptile house at zoos. When I get to Heaven, I’m going to ask the good Lord why those things still exist. Apparently, I have a lot of lists, but my Pail List is still vexing me.

Before I can start compiling my list I guess I need to flesh out the kind of things that truly belong on it. What are things I’d really like to do, but that I don’t see as musts? Can they be everyday things or do they need to be bigger in scope? Should they require effort on my part? Effort on the part of someone else? (You know, like my husband. I love to get him to do things so I don’t have to. It’s my wifely duty.) Do pedicures count? Wait, those belong on the “Necessity List.” Should each brewery I’d like to visit be listed separately or just by region? So many questions. So few answers.

For now, I’m going to just start listing a few things that I know for sure belong on the list. Hiking Enchanted Rock is a no brainer and thankfully that one should be checked off next month, unless springtime in Texas decides to take it off the table. It’s always a roll of the dice in the weather department. Learning to kayak is a good one to add. Despite my fear of deep water the idea of floating on a lake in a kayak is appealing for some reason. Although, I’d really prefer it to not be a Texas lake, so I’ll have to check this one off on a trip, but if it never happens I won’t be mad. Seeing a Broadway show earns a place – just barely. Since I’m not really a fan of New York City, and I can see lots of great theater near where I live, Broadway isn’t Bucket List worthy. That makes it perfect Pail List fodder. And then there’s? Yeah, that’s all I’ve got, three things. Honestly, I’ve had worse starts and I have plenty of time to noodle future additions, so I’m going to set it down for a bit. Who knows, maybe I’ll go find an unfamiliar brewery and ponder the list over a cold one.

While I contemplate my own list, I’d love to hear what’s on your Pail List. Fair warning: I reserve the right to crib your ideas for my own list and hereby claim the privilege of joining you as you check said list items off. I’ll even buy the first round. Cheers!