Jimmy Buffett, the Pacific Coast Highway, and Super Nintendo World

Recently, I was in the car with my family, running errands, and listening to our kid-friendly Spotify playlist. When “Cheeseburger in Paradise” came on, I mentioned to my husband how disappointed I was that I never got to see Jimmy Buffett in concert before he passed away last year. Seeing him live was on my Bucket List for as long as I can remember (not because I’m a huge fan, but because it looked like such a fun atmosphere to experience).

My ever-so-curious six-year-old daughter piped up from the backseat and asked what a Bucket List is. I explained that it’s just an ongoing list of things you want to experience or accomplish during your lifetime but are limited by money and/or time to do them right away. We had a lot of fun talking about what she would put on her List (for now, she’s only ‘officially’ added going to Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios), and some of the things I have on mine – traveling to New Zealand, going to all the MLB stadiums, visiting Glacier National Park, hiking every trail in the Great Smoky Mountains, watching the Tour de France finish in Paris… just to name a few. I also showed her pictures of some of the things I’ve been lucky enough to cross off so far, like rafting through the Grand Canyon with my dad and driving down the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway in a convertible. Our conversation also presented a great opportunity for me to remind her about needs vs. wants, making smart decisions with our time and money, and the importance of having a balance between instant and delayed gratification.

I wish I had the resources to do all the things I wanted to do right now – don’t we all? But part of what makes crossing something off your Bucket List so special and satisfying is all the work and planning that went into it. A big part of what we do at Rather & Kittrell is helping clients prioritize what they are hoping to accomplish, and then developing detailed plans with those metrics in mind. Getting to witness our clients confidently check things off their Bucket Lists because we’ve helped them carefully plan for it is easily my favorite part of this job. I will never tire of hearing stories of the amazing vacations taken, the successful businesses created, the generous gifts given, the skills learned, the fears overcome, and the lasting legacies created.

I’m always looking for new things to add to my Bucket List, so if you have an unforgettable experience that you’ve gotten to check off of yours, I’d love to hear about it! Bonus points if you include pictures. 😊