The sieve's wish list is a must do before considering a retirement bucket list

Hi neighbors. As I write this thunderstorms are threatening. My daughter in Iowa said they had snow today. Sometimes, it's hard to know what we want isn't it.

How many of us sit around for 60-plus years yammering that we can't wait to retire? But we just wait. April 1 was April Fool's Day and my birthday. As I get closer and closer to retirement age, it seems to get further away.

Many people have written their 'bucket list' of what they want to do before they die.

I think we should first write our 'sieve list' of what we need before we can consider retirement. Contemplating retirement means deciding what is important to us at this point in our life. What are our must haves and what is simply a wish list carried for decades?

Here's some things most of us think we must have before we retire, that simply won't stay in our grasp.

The 'trip' to wherever you have always said you would go. Often it's not a grand or even very expensive trip -- but it always slips through your fingers.

Most of the time we dream of special 'getaway' trips during the years we are raising our children. Odd how that works, eh?

We take family vacations to a place the family members all want to see, but they always fall short of that dream trip. Don't be afraid to blow some of that retirement savings to take that special vacation just prior to retirement. Don't let the dream slip away. Go before you forget how to acquire a passport.

Sometimes we dream of remodeling the house, or buying a smaller house when the children leave home. I'd say other than some basic maintenance, you might as well stay in the home you've spent your entire working life paying the mortgage on. Do some painting, buy a few new pieces of furniture and relax. You're not spending time at home anyway, remember? Don't put off visiting because you are remodeling. Hire someone else and go visit the kids.

Now is the time when you can go visit your children more often. The further away from your home they live the better. You can stay for a week or more; see the sites; spoil the grandchildren. Enjoy being waited on and catered to by those children you spent time and gas delivering to functions just a few years ago.

How about those dance lessons you've always wanted to take? Better get started while your knees still bend and you can still snap your fingers.

Karaoke anyone? Always fancied yourself as a rock star or a crooning cowboy? Take your spouse along and go have some fun. You never went out much all those decades while you were both working, herding the kids around and serving on all those volunteer committees. Now is the time!

Don't bother spending money on a sports car. They are all straight shift (which at least 90 percent of we Baby Boomers can no longer drive) and they are too fast for our nerves (and our bladders) to keep up with.

There's lots to do while waiting to retire. Sure, you have to start slow and build up to it. If you are still working full time, it may take you longer to get into the slower groove. The main thing to remember is that if you wait too long, all your plans slip away and you find yourself wasting precious time on things not so important.

Make a list of things you need to have to survive without a job, what to give up if you have to cut back. What do you think you must have now that you won't need if you can start doing what you want to do?

Think about it. I know I am.