“You’re never too young to check off items on your bucket list. You never know; you might just start a new tradition!” ~ Tricia Hise, Cornelia, GA
My husband, Nathan Dilday, and I traveled to the Blue Grass state of Kentucky for the Kentucky Oaks and the 141st Running of the Kentucky Derby on May 2, 2015 in Louisville. This is actually our second Derby attendance, the first just two years prior.
As a child, I was always been enamored with the Derby – the races, the horses, jockeys, owners, the silks, and of course, the fashion. I dreamed of wearing “royal” hats and attending the races in pretty dresses. My dreams were enriched by the quarter horse my brothers and I shared and the Easter hats my mom always managed to find, and even had specially made for me. “One day,” I said, “I’ll go to the Kentucky Derby. It’s on my bucket list.”
Life doesn’t always take the path we expect or intend; battling cancer, for example, is akin to fighting powerful waves that rock our worlds, shake our foundations, and leave an aftermath of destruction. Hope, however, survives.
It always survives.
Grace, mercy, and hope from our Lord bring redemption and renewal. And for me, it brought the realization that I shouldn’t wait – I couldn’t wait – to start checking off items on my bucket list. Hence, our first trip to the Derby in 2013. And then, of course, I got the Derby bug; it’s almost like going to the Georgia vs. Alabama game, with Georgia handily winning with a blowout. Notice I said almost. There’s something about Blue Grass country and something about thoroughbreds, the track, the smells, sights, sounds and, of course, the fashion.
Tricia Hise is an attorney and former local radio morning talk show host. She joins the Now Habersham team as host of our new webcast series, Community Matters. Watch for Community Matters at nowhabersham.com coming in June 2015.
