"Our Little Trooper"

"Our Little Trooper"
"Let me live, that I may praise you!" Psalm 119:175

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

"Rowan's Bucket List"

For several years Rowan has been telling me things to put on his bucket list.  I type them into the notes on my phone whenever he thinks of something he wants to add.  When the doctors in Seattle first decided to proceed with a bone marrow transplant, Rowan said "I'm a little afraid to die, but I'm also confident I won't, because I've got the power of God on my side."  Moments later he added, "but maybe I should start doing some of those things on my bucket list...just in case." 
 
He has tackled a few of them over the past year or so. 
 
Like "Get Baptized".
 

 
 
 
"Play Soccer".
 

 
 
"Join the Army" (Honorary Texas Army National Guardsman)
 




 
 
"Learn to Swim" (he finally did it in just the past two weeks!).
 


 
 
And "Go Fishing"... though he still wants to actually "catch a fish".
 

 
 
Fast forward to this weekend.  After breakfast one morning in Port Isabel, before we headed back over the bridge to South Padre, Brian said "Carrie, get in the back seat.  Rowan, get up here."  The look on Rowan's face was priceless.  He was in shock, and from the looks of things excited, but a little scared too. See, one of his bucket list items was "Ride in the front seat of a car, but not just to the mailbox".  Here are the pictures of Rowan, strapped into the front passenger seat, for a quick 2.37 mile drive over the Queen Isabella Causeway.  He made a finger mustache and asked "Does this help me look older?" Brian asked him what he would say if they got pulled over (I believe Brian told him to say it was his Mom's idea;) But they decided that Rowan had great acting skills, so he could just fake cry and tell the officer that it was on his bucket list, and that he had begged us to let him do it:)  Luckily, that did not happen, and we pulled over and got Rowan safely into the back seat again just after the bridge.  The smile on his face was priceless!  He even said, "I wish my hair was still long so the air from the vents up here could blow it back dramatically":)
 


 
 
Later during the trip, he and I read over all of the other items he had on his bucket list.  We laughed at a lot of them, I almost cried because of a few of them, and then Rowan told me, "Some of my favorite things on my bucket list really need to be done so I can help save people. Those are the ones I care most about doing".
 
I am so blessed that Rowan continues to think of others before himself, despite all he has been through.  He deserves to do ALL of these things.  Some are so outrageous though, that we know that simply cannot happen.  In the meantime, we will tackle the ones that are attainable, be thankful for the ones he has already accomplished or enjoyed, and hope and pray he lives to see the ones that will save others happen.  It truly is what he cares most about!
 
 
Here it is...
 
"Rowan's Bucket List"
 
Find Big Foot (check)
 
Learn to ride a two-wheel bike without training wheels (working on it now)
 
Learn to swim (check)
 
Go bowling
 
Play soccer (check)
 
Score a goal in a soccer game
 
Play paintball
 
Ride in the front seat of a car, not just to the mailbox (check)
 
Play laser tag
 
Join the Army (check)
 
Find a cure for cancer
 
Go to Lego Land
 
Go see a Broadway show in NY
 
Go on a Disney Cruise
 
Go to Ireland
 
Go fishing (check)
 
Go on a boat
 
Actually catch a fish
 
Do a cart wheel
 
Do a back flip
 
Get baptized (check)
 
Be in a feature length real movie
 
See Mt. Rushmore
 
Be on "What would you do?"
 
See the David and the Sistine Chapel
 
Go to Scotland to look for the Lochness Monster
 
Meet Adam Levine
 
Go to real school
 
Try bacon
 
Try any type of meat from Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas
 
Save the World
 
Cook with Gordon Ramsey or Robert Irvine
 
Meet Bobo from Finding Big Foot
 
Ride a Segway (a golden Segway if possible)
 
Play in the snow, somewhere that it's all the way up to my knees
 
Meet Jesus
 
Find my bone marrow donor, thank them and give them a big hug (check)
 
Go to Washington to see all the monuments
 
Go camping (checking this one off as soon as we get to Seattle)
 
Help lots of other people find their bone marrow match! (He's working on it:)
 
Learn to play the violin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1 comment:

  1. Love your list, rowan. Visiting mt. Rushmore's on my bucket list, too! :-)

    ReplyDelete