I read a post written by Kerri at Travel Junkies and at the end of her post she posed the question, “What do you want to do before you die?”  I answered, “I want to live free of obligations.”  It’s a big want, but I’m thinking it can be done.  It just takes a little ingenuity, a lot of planning and enough time to get all of our ducks in a row.  Where did that saying come from, anyway?!  As if we really go through life lining up ducks?!

ducks in a row

It’s true, I want to live the next chapter of my life free of obligations and I mean that in the most positive way possible.  It’s not like I want to let go of obligations that are near and dear to my heart, you know – husband, son, BFF’s, them I’ll keep; but that’s a no-brainer because I don’t think of them as obligations, they are the joy in my life.  Free of obligations, by my definition, is not having to be somewhere or do something because I’m obligated to do so.  We’ve worked really hard all of our lives and as a result we’ve lived a great life together, with no regrets, but I’m about ready to let it all go.  When the time presents itself for us to leave our life as innkeepers, I want to live in 24/7 freedom mode.  I suppose it could also be defined as retirement, but since we never stay still for very long I don’t think that word is the right fit for us.  For me, an obligation-free life equates to blowing with the wind, following the sun and seeing the world… One Road at a Time, or just hanging out for the pure relaxing joy of it.

So after I answered Kerri’s question, I started to think about what I would do with my new-found life free of obligations and I’m working on a top 25 list; the top 25 things I want to do/see/experience before I die.  That sounds a little maudlin, but you know what I mean.  I guess you could call it my bucket list.

So, #1 is an obligation-free life.  #2. I want to visit Italy, for at least a couple of months because I want to settle somewhere, for a period of time, where I (we) can learn to cook “real” Italian food.  I want to learn to make pasta from scratch, real marinara sauce, ciabatta bread, olives, mouth-watering melty cheese pizza and my all-time favorite, spaghetti carbonara.  Last year we met someone who told us they had spent time in a small Italian village where the owners of the inn, at which they stayed, also taught cooking classes at the inn.  Yes!  That’s got my name all over it!

Pasta Cabonara. My absolute favorite Italian meal!

Pasta Cabonara. My absolute favorite Italian meal! Photo credit:  InspiredTaste.net

And if that quaint inn, with the cooking classes, just happens to be in Positano, well then that would be just about perfect!

Breathtaking!

Positano, Italy – Breathtaking!  Photo credit: en.wikipedia.org

Stay tuned for #3 on my list, but in the meantime… what do you want to do before you die?

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