A Mother's Bucket List

As I wind down the month of January and come to terms with how half-assed my commitment to my "resolutions" for the year has already been, I've been thinking about setting more realistic goals for myself in the future.

You know, setting the bar a little lower.

Like, perhaps instead of resolving to lose enough pounds to wear tight yoga pants with pride, I opt for stopping myself at just half a sleeve of Girl Scout cookies in one sitting.

Because I can totally commit to that.

All of this got my little brain's wheels in motion, and then I had, to sound like Oprah for a second, an "a-ha!" moment.

You know those bucket lists that people make? Where you put pen to paper and list all of the things you want to do or see before you kick the bucket?

What if, instead of some unobtainable, crazy list -- or even a moderately achievable list -- I made a bucket list of reasonable things I want to experience as a mother before I die?

So, I did it. I sat down and quickly jotted off my realistic bucket list. Sure, it's simple. But also something I can see myself actually achieving. And I DO like crossing things off lists.

Now, before I reveal my list, let me make something perfectly clear. This list is about ME. It is not a "Things I'd love to teach/show/experience with my children." That's another list entirely, and one that makes my chest tighten with anxiety at the mere thought of not having enough time with them.

This list? It's entirely fluffy, entirely mine and I'm entirely okay with that.

Without further ado, here are just some of the things I'd put on my realistic bucket list, in no particular order:

My bucket list as a mother:

1. Spend 24 hours in my house alone. Without cleaning a freaking thing.

2. Walk in the living room at the end of the night and not find one article of clothing on the floor.

3. Scroll through my DVR and not be able to identify every episode of Phineas & Ferb.

4. Get to school in enough time that we don't count the sprint from the car as our exercise for the day.

5. Wake up on a Sunday and panic that I'd slept too late.

6. Permanently erase the theme song to "Thomas the Tank Engine" from my memory.

7. Adjust my internal clock to be able to make it past 6 p.m. to eat dinner.

8. Downgrade my purse from giant cavern-sized to demure.

9. Shave a good two minutes off the time it takes for me to decide what I'm making for dinner.

10. Find that missing Magic Tree House book the library keeps threatening me about.

11. Drink an entire cup of coffee while it is still hot.

12. Go an entire week wearing actual clothes, and not the ancient work-out gear that makes me look like a hobo.

13. Hit the jackpot with the laundry and for once, match up Every. Single. Sock.

14. Receive an evite to volunteer at my kids' school and Just Say No.

15. Find a way to keep my kids wanting to hug and kiss me for at least another 15 years.

And that's just the surface, folks. What would you put on your realistic bucket list?

This post originally appeared on Full Of It. It would make Gina's day if you said hi to her on Facebook and Twitter.