Young people don’t have bucket lists.There’s just too much they want to do to bother making a list. Besides, young people are too busy with NOW to think much about TOMORROWS. They’ll also discover as they age, they
could never imagine some of the stuff they’ll do, without it ever appearing on a list. Like this duck who never dreamed he'd swim with the flamingos, ended up doing it without it being on his bucket list.
My bucket list is getting shorter (like that duck's legs), but it’s a good thing. I’m finding out, I cross off been-there-done-that stuff faster than I’m adding more to do.
Then there are those desires that gradually fade in time. For example, I carried around a wish for fifty years that I’m “happily” crossing off my bucket list, not because I did it, but because now I don’t want to. With just a little thought I got to the bottom of why it’s been such a perennial desire. ADVERTISING!
I’ve always wanted to spend a week at a dude ranch. I was 15 years old when I first read an advertisement in Sunset Magazine about a dude ranch in Colorado. It showed the rustic bunk house we’d sleep in, a corral of beautiful horses all saddled up and ready to ride, a long picnic table with a red and white checkered tablecloth laden with barbecued chicken and ribs, potato salad, coleslaw, corn bread, a crock of chili, homemade chocolate chip cookies, German Chocolate cake, lemonade and more. A quiet lake to think by and fish in, friendly people to talk, laugh and work with. Work? Yes we’d GET to work on the ranch too! ADVERTISING made working sound fun!
I’ve always loved horses and the thought of riding every day was my dream. I haven’t ridden a horse in 30 years. (Come to think of it, that’s around the last time I quit being able to do the splits.) I still love the smell of horses, but I really have no desire to ride one any longer. I wonder if you can go to a dude ranch just to smell the horses and eat? Oh well, I can almost smell them when we watch Heartland, that wonderful series out of Canada.
Anyway it got me to wondering if we could get a little extra help in our homes by putting an enticing ad on Craig's List that would attract people to want to spend a week working in a three bedroom ranch, rather than at a dude ranch.
GET-AWAY FOR A FUN-FILLED WEEK AT THE HENDERSON’S RANCH
(Three bedroom ranch that is.)
Sleep in a comfy bunk bed with your choice of Hello Kitty or Spiderman sleeping bags.
Feed the animals: Five Golden Labs, four crazy cats, three hamsters, two parakeets and a cockatiel in a white cage.
Join the happy Henderson children as they do their homework and take care of their daily chores. And the best part is YOU GET TO HELP!
Meet Mrs. Henderson, your gracious hostess, and receive your household tasks weekly plan! Experience the thrill of using her brand new state-of-the-art Shark vacuum cleaner.
Discover you get to be part of The Great Closet Clean Out Event! You'll try on Mrs. Henderson's vintage clothes and help her decide to keep or store for another 20 years.
Take part in Mrs. Henderson’s Zumba class and go grocery shopping for the week’s planned menus.
Join in the merry car pool and meet all the Henderson children’s friends as you drop them off at school, ballet lessons, soccer games, Girl Scout meetings, choir practice and more. And you'll meet Mrs. Henderson's mother-in-law when you take to her various medical appointments.
Meet Mr. Henderson and enjoy a couple beers as you join him in his man cave and watch your favorite football games on their huge, new HD television.
Depending on the weather and the time of year, be prepared to shovel sidewalks, rake leaves or pick berries.
You’ll hate to see the week come to an end and when you return to your own home, you just might want to work up an ad like this to generate your own income and get some much needed help.
Here's more to read, if you liked this: http://www.cluborganized.com/newspapers/2015/december/rewards-for-doing-boring-household-chores
Love,
P.S. My book The Joy of Being Disorganized will help you get organized just enough to please you. If you feel overwhelmed, this book will help you lighten up and enjoy life even more than you do now.