The Accidental Bucket List

My son keeps reminding me that Saturday is swim practice. For me. He's never taken this much interest in my training; the difference is that my "swim practice" is taking place in the ocean, which means he has a free ride to the fishing pier. He is far more excited about this "swim practice" than I am. I hate swimming. I especially hate swimming in the ocean. Well, actually, I'm terrified of not being able to see my feet when I'm standing in the ocean. It's not sharks-- my bucket list includes diving with sharks-- it's just more a fear of the unknown. 

All this new and different training lately has made me realize something. In the past few years I've done a lot of things that I never dreamed I would. Just things where I think later, "Wow, that was pretty cool. How in the world did that happen to me?!" So, I started thinking that I need to create an Accidental Bucket List-- a list of things I can check off that I've done that I should've put on my Bucket List, but never really thought or planned to put on. So, here goes, 

My Accidental Bucket List:

1. Become a journalist. Ok, I really don't think of myself as a "journalist" (because Stone Phillips- journalist, Katie Couric- journalist). But technically... I write articles, and they are published by someone other than myself.

2. Be a pro athlete for a day. Most people probably haven't heard about the NPGL (National Pro Grid League)-- the sport only debuted last year. It's a little bit school yard relay race and a whole lot CrossFit. But it's really fun to watch and, as I found out last Saturday, really fun to do. The Miami Surge took over Caution CrossFit for a day-- I learned the ins and outs of the GRID races, participated in a movement clinic, and then raced with a team on the GRID. It was exhilarating! And exhausting. And I feel like it was just a tiny glimpse of what these amazing athletes endure in a day. 

3. Meet one of the Fittest People on Earth. At BattleFrog Orlando, earlier this year, I met Shawn Ramirez, the winner of the 2014 CrossFit Games Masters division. If you haven't heard of him, he dominated the CrossFit Open in 2014 and went on to dominate in the Games. He's done the same this year, while becoming the BattleFrog National Youth Program Director and being a husband and father. It was pretty cool to get the opportunity to learn more about the hard work it takes to become one of the best in the world at what he does. 

4. Swim in the ocean. This might seem like a lame thing for me to put on my Accidental Bucket List, but honestly, it's a really BIG deal for me. A REALLY BIG DEAL. Having lived in Florida for 14 years now, I've been IN the ocean hundreds of times, but mostly just barely past my ankles. But I finally did it. I finally put my face in the water, took my feet off the sand and swam (well, I tried to swim, anyway). No fish ate me, and I didn't even drown.

That's all I got for now. I've had mixed feelings writing this. It feels a lot like bragging (but who am I kidding, this whole blog/social media world is all about bragging). Honestly, though sometimes I just can't believe my life. And it's not that it's any more special than yours. I'm so very grateful for where I am today. And none of it is because of me.

So, let's hear it--
What's on your Accidental Bucket List?