Friday 21 October 2011

Runnin' naked through the snow ... etc, etc

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For some reason this morning I got thinking about what I would want to do if I only had three months to live ... and you know what? I started panicking that I haven't yet written my third novel. The novel I have been waiting to write my whole life. That is the FIRST thing I thought about.

Would I really spend that last three months trying to get it finished? Am I really that obsessed? Wouldn't I want to grab my significant other and drag him to Australia to meet my whole family? Maybe take him on a trip through the Aussie outback and wear hats with dangling corks and blow into didgeridoos and fight crocodiles?

Wouldn't I want to see the Mesoamerican pyramids up close and personal? Fly a helicopter over the Amazon? Run naked through the snow? Fill a bath with glass seed beeds and sit in it? (with knickers on, of course, wouldn't want them getting stuck anywhere, right?) Wouldn't that just feel so weird and amazing on your skin? Ever since I was a kid I wanted to do that ... Okay ... I'm a bit eccentric, but we all knew that, yes? Ha!

Look, I know it's not a very nice thought, only having three months to live (knock on wood), but tell me, how would you want to spend your time?


30 comments:

  1. Not naked running through the snow. Too cold!

    If I could bear to let us spend savings knowing I wouldn't be here to contribute to the family income, I'd love to travel. I want to see Spain and Italy most of all. One trip I'd love to do with my kids because seeing a new country through their eyes is pretty cool. The other just with my husband. And I've only seen Paris, so a trip through other parts of France would be excellent.

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  2. I'd definitely want to spend time with everyone I love, and in that case, it would involve traveling all over the world. This is a challenging question, Jessica! It's possible I might dive into writing to escape the thought of my own demise and of leaving my loved ones, because that's how I cope with stress now, but I'm not sure that's what I would do if I knew I was going to die soon. Very thought-provoking.

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  3. Okay, I would not want to run naked through the snow. I might write but I'd probably write something down for my children, whether it's a story of me. So they'd know me. And I'd spend time with them.

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  4. I would quit my job and spend as much time with the family as I could. I'd also probably try to write a book or record video messages to leave behind because the thought of leaving my kids prematurely fills me with PANIC.

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  5. Definitely not writing a book. As much as I love to write it just takes too long.

    I would try to spend it seeing the places I've always wanted to see, hopefully with the people who matter most at my side.

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  6. I'd spend every second with my husband and family.

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  7. I would definitely steer clear of snow :), especially while naked!

    Wow, tough question. I would write the third book in my Kindred series. Agent is shopping the first, but I'd want the second and third finished.

    Travel with my husband. We've been through most of Europe. I'd love to see Asia, see the Great Barrier Reef, hike through New Zealand, do a Safari in Africa, swing through the Mediterranean on my home where I'd spend my final days with family.

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  8. I would make sure all our family mementos found good homes (I have actually started that process on a small scale), spend time with the grandkids, get all my family stories printed so they wouldn't be lost, get a picture done of myself (hardly any exist), and just enjoy every single moment to the best of my ability. All of the above WITH my clothes on.

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  9. That's a great question, but I don't have an answer unless it really does happen. Hmmm. I'm not sure what I would do. I love writing. Would I give up on my wip because I knew I was dying and know it would never be published? I don't know. Maybe I'd go on a trip (do I win an lottery in this scenario?) and spend time taking awesome photos so I can be remembered that way.

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  10. I think I would use the time to travel and see the world. Writing that last novel is important for prosperity, but I could always bring my laptop and use the experience I got traveling in my last book. It is a morbid thought, but one that got me thinking :)

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  11. I really prefer my naked time in WARM--preferably skinny dipping in the Caribbean or something... but that would be a break from finishing that book, as I ALSO have ONE BOOK that I am not ready to write, but is the one I HAVE to write... a sort of multi-generational family memoire-fictionalized, of course, as most of the characters are gone, so I only have facts on the skeleton of the story. I can't write it, though, until my generation is the oldest. I don't want to inadvertantly hurt anyone.

    (and I've already run naked in the snow--so long as there is a hot tub on the other end, it's pretty good.)

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  12. I'd take my family to Malta to be with my parents. (And probably write while I was there !).

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  13. I'd probably finish my WIP, because I'm just that anal. But then I'd gather my family around me and do crazy things with them. Laugh as much as possible, because that's how I want them to remember me. :)

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  14. Three months? Make love to my wife in a new location every night. (You asked!)

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  15. Geez...I'm not sure. I know running naked in the snow would be out. lol Obviously, I'd love to spend time with family and friends, but I'd also look to do something influential. Something that would stand the test of time, leaving my mark and hopefully helping others.

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  16. You mean after I hopped on a plane to Greece and spent time with you? I'd travel, for sure. And hopefully write and read while I travelled. I loved the movie The Bucket List - I'd need tons of money for that kind of last adventure, but if funds were not an obstacle, I'd make a giant list of things to do and tag some friends and family along for the ride. Oh, and I'd pay lots of money to meet Ian Somerhalder. Just saying.

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  17. Oh my goodness, sitting in a bath of beads sounds amazing. (But definitely with underwear on...)

    I wouldn't travel except to get back to my family. I've traveled a lot. I would want to spend as much time with the people I love as possible. So I might have to ship some of my German friends to Colorado so we could all be together.

    Am I being too serious when I answer this question? My imagination is failing me today...I need the weekend to start.

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  18. With my family. I'd quit my job for sure. And i would probably quit writing too. But who knows for sure. I hope none of us is ever in that position

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  19. I would drain my bank accounts and IRA and plan an all-encompassing travel expedition. I'm not sure what happens once this life ends, but I want to make sure I see everything I can incase I don't come back.

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  20. Hi Jess .. count me out of the snow too - and the glass beads in the bath! I think I'd follow Laura above and see it all - I'd love to do that .. and then if I lived I'd go back and do it all again .. and on the way I'd meet lots of blogging friends ..

    Cheers - enjoy the weekend whatever you might be doing!! Hilary

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  21. I'd spend it at home, with my wife and kids. And after they fell asleep every night, I'd write that one book I've always felt I have to write. Do we all have one of those books?

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  22. I would plant myself on the Pacific NW coast, watch the waves shatter against the cliffs, and write. Not a book, not a story, but an escape just for me.

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  23. I would return to the UK and gather my family around me. Then we would fly off to the Maldives and live in a tree house. After that I would go to a writer's conference and use the heartbreak card, ensuring my books lived on after me! ;D

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  24. BAH!!! "with knickers on, of course"... *snort*

    OK, hmm... I think you could still do those things AND write. You know, after hours. You're about to die. Who needs sleep??? ;p Yep, I'm pretty obsessed, too.

    Fer sure, I'd take the girls to Disney World again. They loved that trip. And I wouldn't be here. I'd be at the beach~ :o) <3

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  25. Running naked through the snow would probably be invigorating. I've done it in a bathing suit and jumped back in a hot tub. Kinda felt like pins and needles but the adrenaline was awesome.

    My friend and I had this conversation the other day, oddly enough. I would definitely go to Egypt and explore the ancient pyramids, first and foremost. I'd also see the parts of Europe I missed my first time around. I think I'd jump off a waterfall. And I'd do it all with the people I love because at that point, who cares if it puts me in debt? Money is useless when you're dead.

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  26. Hello!!! I came to give you some pancakes but I ate them on the way...

    Oh but seriously! Three months to live!??! Yikes. Erm. I'd adopt all the cats I'm able to then I'll ditch the diet and spend all my savings on shoes.

    Take care
    x

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  27. Did you know that is what kept Steve Jobs going? He said he would think about it every time he felt he was in a rut. What if today was your last day on earth? I would want to go someplace beautiful, shoot pictures and have National Geographic publish them. :-) Then I would eat really good food, find intriguing conversations, drink wine and laugh!

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  28. I'd make sure I spent tons of time with my family, listened to my favourite music, and wrote letters for the next birthdays for those nearest and dearest to me. :)

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  29. Butt freakin' naked! That's for sure. Maybe doing stuff I swore off years ago. No details here though. Just have to take my word for it.

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  30. Knowing I had only 3 months to live? What would I do?

    I think I'd tell everyone what I really thought of them, then I'd buy myself a 1.75 litre bottle of Grand Marnier and bolt-lock myself inside my room so no one could murder me before I died of my disease or cirrhosis of the liver - whichever came first.

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal AMerican Underground'

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